University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


Gift  of 


FRANK  S,   RICHARDS 


<^:.<^^L-^L^  /r  '/^T-^^^^ef 


MOORE  RAISED  HIS  GUN  TO  SHOOT.    (See  pa^e  150.) 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fortyyearsamongiOOjonerich 


i 


FORTY  YEARS 


AMONG  THE  INDIANS. 


A  TRUE  YET  THRILLING  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  AUTHOR'S 
EXPERIENCES  AMONG  THE  NATIVES. 


BY  DANIEL  W.  JONES. 


PUBLISHED  AT  THE 

JUVENILE  INSTRUCTOR  OFFICE, 

SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH. 
1S90. 


COPYRIGHT  APPLIED   FOR. 


PRKP'ACE. 


'T^HE  Scriptures  tell  us  that  the  truth  should  not  be 
^  spoken  at  all  times.  Does  this  imply  that  a  false- 
hood should  ever  be  told?  I  think  not,  but  simpty 
means  that  silence  is  often  profitable. 

In  answer  to  the  solicitation  of  many  friends,  I  have 
concluded  to  write  something  of  my  personal  history  and 
experience  in  frontier  life,  especially  relating  to  that  por- 
tion spent  among  the  Indians  and  Mexicans.  In  doing 
this  I  shall  aim  to  write  the  plain,  simple  truth.  I  have 
to  trust  mainly  to  my  memory,  never  having  kept  a  jour- 
nal. I  have  preserved  a  few  letters  that  will  aid  me,  but 
the  greater  part  of  this  history  will  be  given  as  it  comes 
to  my  mind,  just  as  it  occurred  to  me  at  the  time,  modi- 
fied or  strengthened,  as  the  case  may  be,  by  after  circum- 
stances. 

One  rule  I  shall  endeavor  to  follow — to  speak  the 
truth  without  malice  toward  anyone.  This  will  doubtless 
be  hard  for  me  to  carry  through,  but  I  make  a  record  of 
the  desire,  that  it  may  be  continually  before  me. 

If  the  educated  reader  should  find  any  mistakes  in 
this  book,  please  do  not  spend  much  time  or  money  in 


VI.  PREFACE. 

pointing  them  out,  as  they  may  be  too  common.  No 
one  has  been  paid  for  a  literary  revision.  The  Author 
has  used  his  own  language  and  style.  The  unlearned 
will  be  able  to  understand  the  language  without  the  use 
of  a  dictionary. 

The  Author. 


IDNTDEZX. 


CHAPTER   I. 


Cross  the  Plains  with  Volunteers  to  Engage  in  War  with  Mexico 
— Attacked  by  Mounted  Comanches — Remain  in  Mexico 
About  Three  Years  after  the  War — Indulge  in  Many  of  the 
Wild  and  Reckless  Ways  of  the  People,  but  Abstain  from 
Strong  Drink  and  the  Worst  Vices — Acquire  a  Knowledge  of 
the  Spanish  Language 17 

CHAPTER   11. 

Learn  of  the  ^'Mormons" — Leave  with  a  Company  Bound  for 
Salt  Lake  Valley  with  Eight  Thousand  Sheep — My  First 
"  Big  Scare  " — Surrounded  and  Threatened  by  Indians  Many 
Times  on  the  Road — Surrounded  by  Five  Hundred  Well- 
Armed  Warriors  Demanding  the  Death  of  a  Man  from  our 
Camp,  as  the  Chief's  son  had  Died — Meet  with  an  Accident 
Which  Nearly  Resulted  in  my  Death 20 

CHAPTER   III. 

My  Scrutiny  of  the  Mormons — Employment  as  an  Indian  Trader 
— Acquaintance  with  ''Winter  Mormons  "—A  Proposition 
of  Theft — Loomas  Threatens  my  Life — My  Resolve  to  Kill 
him — He  Finds  his  Death  at  Other  Hands 37 

CHAPTER   IV. 

My  Baptism — Walker,  the  ''Napoleon  of  the  Desert" — Raids  in 
Lower  California — He  Tricks  the  Mexicans — Extinction  of 
the  Tribe 40 


Vlll  INDEX. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PAGE. 

Patrick  and    Glenn    Fail — Patrick   a    Rascal — He    Robs  Enoch 

Reece 43 

CHAPTER  VI. 

My  Visit  to  Salt  Lake  City — Introduction   to  Brigham  Young — 

Ordained  a  Seventy — Judge  Brochus'  Speech 45 

CHAPTER    VII. 

The  City  Santa  Fe— Traditions  Concerning  it — The  Early  Set- 
tlers— My  Desires  to  Travel — The  Slave  Trade 47 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Governor  Brigham  Young  Checks  the  Slave  Trade — The  Prosecu- 
tion of  Offenders — A  Noted  Trial — A  Cruel  Argument  to 
Induce  Mormons  to  Buy  Indian  Children 51 

CHAPTER   IX. 

My  Marriage — Peaceful  Life  Among  the  Savages — Dr.  Bowman 
Seeks  Trouble — He  is  Killed  by  the  Indians — The  "Walker 
War"— Its  Cause— A  Thrilling  Situation 53 

CHAPTER   X. 

My  Interview  with  Brother  George  A.  Smith — My  Ill-natured  Re- 
mark— He  Wins  me  by  Kindness — His  Noble  Character — 
Peace  with  the  Indians 59 

CHAPTER   XI. 

President  Young  Calls  for  Volunteers  to  meet  the  Hand-cart 
Company — I  Join  the  Party — Names  of  the  Company — One 
Party  of  Emigrants  Found  in  a  Starving  Condition  ....      62 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Myself  and  two  Companions  Sent  to  Search  for  Missing  Com- 
panies— We  Find  Them — Our  Cool  Reception  at  One  Camp 
— Apathy  Manifested — Terrible  Sufferings 65 


INDEX.  IX 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

PAGE. 

Short  Rations — Wagons  Unloaded  of  Their  Freight  and  Loaded 
With  Emigrants — Myself  and  Company  Left  to  Guard  the 
Goods — One    Sister's    Discouragement 69 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

We  Kill  our  Cattle  to  Keep  Them  from  Wolves — Visit  from  two 
Brethren — Letter  from  President  Young — A  Mail  Company 
Nearly  Perishes 75 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Our  Food  Exhausted — Rawhides  Cooked  and  Eaten — Our  Fast- 
Day — An  Unexpected  Supper — A  Providential  Food  Supply.     80 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Kindness  of  Indians  in  Providing  Food — Express  from  Salt  Lake 

City — Visit  from  an  Indian  Chief — Scanty  Food  Supply  .    .      86 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

My  Severe  Toil  in  Getting  to  Camp — Three  Stray  Cattle  Come 
to  the  Fort---The  Second  Company  of  the  Y.  X.  Express 
Passes  us — Our  Hunt  for  the  Cattle — Two  Days'  Travel 
Without  Food — Our  Safe  Return  to  Camp 96 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Pulling  Sticks — '^ Rawhides  Against  Corn" — Our  Buffalo  Hunt — 
Dissatisfaction  at  the  Food  Rations — Permission  Given  to 
Eat  all  that  was  Wanted — Ben  Hampton's  Prophecy — Its 
Fulfillment — A  Relief  Party  Arrives — Tom  Williams'  Party 
of  Apostates — He  demands  the  Goods  Under  our  Care  but 
does   not  get  Them 102 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

Ample  Food  Supplies  Arrive — I  go  to  Salt  Lake  City — My  Re- 
port to  President  Young — He  Approves  it — I  am  Accused  of 
Stealing — My  Vindication 109 


INDEX. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


My  Trading  Trip — President  Young  Asks  me  to  Meet  some  False 
Charges — Wicked  Reports  Concerning  me — Their  Unjust- 
ness  made  Manifest — The  President's  Stern  Reproof  to  my 
Accusers — An  Excellent  Recommend 115 

CHAPTER   XXL 

The  Echo  Canyon  War — An  Invading  Foe — Plans  for  Checking 
its  Progress — Peace  Declared — Pardon  Granted — The  True 
Cause  of  the  Trouble— I  Work  at  Saddlery— The  Unjusti- 
fiable Killing  of  Yates — Visit  from  Indians 124 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

The  Troops  Ordered  from  Camp  Floyd  to  New  Mexico — I  am 
Solicited  to  Act  as  Guide — Through  the  Killing  of  an  Ox  I 
am  Charged  with  being  a  Traitor  to  the  Church — The  Trial — 
My  Acquittal — I  Desire  to  Return  Home,  but  am  Forced  to 
Continue  as  Guide 131 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Difficulty  in  Finding  the  Trail — The  Character  of  our  Command- 
ing Officer — My  Discharge  as  Guide — A  Proposition  to  Kill 
Stith — Rejected  by  Moore  and  Myself — Arrival  at  Santa  Fe 
— The  Confidence  of  the  Quartermaster  in  me 138 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Leave  Santa  Fe  for  Home — Attacked  by  Robbers — A  Shower  of 
Bullets — A  Hard  Ride — Incidents  of  our  Journey — A  Novel 
Sign 147 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Martin's  Cruel  Treatment  of  us — Baker's  Kindness — Our  Journey 
Home — Reception  by  our  Families — Our  Claim  Against  the 
Government 156 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Duties  at  Home — Building  the  Provo  Canyon  Road — Indulge  in 
a  Row— Move  to  Salt  Lake  City— The  Black  Hawk  War — 
List  of  the  Slain — No  Help  from  the  U.  S.  Troops  ....     161 


INDEX.  XI 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

PAGE. 

I  Decide  to  Visit  the  Hostile  Indians — Tabby's  Message — My 
Ruse  to  Avoid  Being  Killed  or  Driven  Away — Tabby's 
Relenting — The  Design  to  Raid   Coalville   Frustrated  ...     169 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

My  Discharge  by  the  Government  Agent — I  Prepare,  in  Mid- 
Winter,  to  Again  Visit  the  Indians — Bradley  Sessions  Ac- 
companies me — Our  Terrible  Journey  and  Sufferings — Recep- 
tion at  the  Agency 177 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

I  Visit  the  Indian  Camp — Our  Big  Talk — Some  of  Their  Griev- 
ances— The  Kindness  of  an  Indian  in  Providing  me  a  Horse.   189 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Another  Trip  to  Uintah  Agency — Confidence  of  the  Indians — My 
Return  to  Salt  Lake  City — Call  on  Secretary  Delano — G.  W. 
Dodge  Visits  the  Indians  as  a  Peace  Commissioner — Speech 
of  Chief  Douglas — Treaty  with  Grass  Valley  Indians   ...     195 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Whisky  Sold  to  the  Indians — I  Forbid  the  Traffic — Douglas  and 
his  Band  Demand  an  Order  for  Fire-Water — They  Threaten 
to  Kill  me — My  Trick  on  them  for  Threatening  me — Mr. 
Dodge  Orders  the  Indians  Back  to  the  Reservation — They 
Refuse  to  go — Trouble  Brewing — Peaceable  Settlement  .    .    .     203 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 

The  Killing  of  an  Indian  Near  Fairview — His  Friends  Visit  me — 

I  Advise  them  to  keep  the  Peace  and  they  do  so 211 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

The  Salt  Lake  City  Election  in  1874 — Deputy  Marshals  Attempt 
to  Run  Things — Mayor  Wells'  Order — The  Mob  Dispersed — 
Captain  Burt  and  his  Men  Make  Some  Sore  Heads    .    .     .    .  214 


XU  INDEX. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

PAGE. 

President  Young  Requests  Brother  Brizzee  and  Myself  to  Prepare 
for  a  Mission  to  Mexico — Mileton  G.  Trejo  Joins  the  Church 
— His  Remarkable  Conversion — I  Report  to  President  Young 
that  I  am  Ready — One  Hundred  Pages  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon Translated  into  Spanish  and  Printed 219 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 

The  Missionaries  for  Mexico — We  are  to  Explore  the  Country — 
Our  Outfit  and  Mode  of  Travel — Our  Stubborn  Mules — Inci- 
dents of  the  Journey 233. 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

Our  Explorations — Arrival  at  Phoenix — We  Push  Forward  on  our 
Journey — Camp  Among  Thieves — A  Meeting  Held  with 
Indians — Its  good  Results 240 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

We  Visit  the  Governor  of  Arizona — An  Indian  Country — My 
Talk  with  the  Natives — The  Custom  Officer — He  Favors  our 
Entry  into  Mexico 249. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

A  Priest  Warns  his  Congregation  Against  Mormons — We  Find 
Some  Friends — Our  Plans  for  the  Season — Letter  from  Presi- 
dent Young — Threats  of  some  Rowdies — The  Peaceful  Re- 
sults  256 

CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

Justice  in  Early  Days — We  Prepare  to  go  Further — Our  Letter  of 
Introduction — Loss  of  our  Animals — We  Trail  and  Find 
Them 266 

CHAPTER   XL. 

The  Object  of  our  Mission — Our  Arrival  at  Chihuahua — Our  Gen- 
erous Landlord — We  Call  on  the  Governor — Interest  Aroused 
Concerning  us — Interview  With  Robbers 273 


INDEX.  XIU 

CHAPTER   XLI. 

PAGK. 

We  Decide  to  Visit  Guerero — Meeting  at  Concepcion — We  Pre- 
pare to  Return  Home — The  Priest  at  Temosachic — His  Kind- 
ness to  us — Testimony  of  a  Stranger 280 

CHAPTER  XLH. 

Experience  at  El  Valle — We  Travel  Through  a  Dangerous  Indian 
Country — Soldiers  on  the  Move — Visit  from  an  ''  Old 
Timer" 288 

CHAPTER   XLin. 

Narrative  of  our  Visitor's  Life — His 'Early  Studies  and  Aspirations 
— His  Marriage  to  a  Deceitful  Wife — He  Flees  to  California 
— His  Wife  Assumes  Repentance  and  he  Returns  to  her — 
Further  Hypocrisy 294 

CHAPTER    XLIV. 

We  Meet  Leading  Brethren  in  Arizona — Arrival  Home — Incorrect 
Reports  Concerning  me — My  Horse  ''Tex" — Meeting  With 
President  Young — He  Accepts  our  Labors 300 

CHAPTER   XLV. 

A  Colonizing  Mission  to  Mexico — I  Prefer  to  be  Relieved — My 
Wish  Not  Granted — The  Company  Who  Volunteered — Our 
Start  From  St.  George — Parting  With   President  Young  .    .     304 

CHAPTER   XLVL 

We  Locate  on  Salt  River — Letter  from  President  Young — We 
Commence  Work  on  our  Ditch — Hire  Indians  to  Help  us — 
My  Associations  with  the  Red  Men 309 

CHAPTER   XLVII. 

Deceit  of  my  Interpreter — Indians  Apply  for  Baptism-^-Some 
True-Hearted  Natives  Receive  the  Ordinance — Help  Given 
on  our  Ditch  by  the  Pimas  and  Maricopas — The  U.  S.  Agent 
Forbids  my  Interfering  with  the  Indians 315 


XIV  INDEX. 

CHAPTER     XLVIIl. 

PAGE. 

I  am  Accused  of  Conniving  with  the  Indians  to  Steal — My  Arrest 
— Investigation  and  Discharge — The  Fate  of  Witches  Among 
the  Natives — I  Interfere  to  Prevent  their  Murder — Captain 
Norval's  Threat — His  Mistake 325 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

Opposition  to  the  Indians — An  Exciting  Meeting — A  Commis- 
sion Appointed  to  Investigate  Indian  Water  Claims — Efforts 
to  Rob  the  Natives — Armed  Men  Begin  to  Gather — Peaceful 
Settlement 331 

CHAPTER    L. 

I  Decide  to  Devote  Myself  to  Personal  Interests — Summoned  as  a 
Witness  in  Indian  Difficulties — My  Own  Troubles — I  Meet 
the  Demands  of  my  Brethren  Though  it  Takes  my  Home  .  .     337 

CHAPTER   LI. 

I  Remove  to  Tonto  Basin — Death  by  Accident  of  my  Wife  and 
Child— Return  to  Salt  River— My  Official  Duties  There- 
Trip  to  Old  Mexico 344 

CHAPTER  LIL 

Accidental  Shooting  of  my  Son-in-law — My  Opinion  of  Early 
Colonization  by  the  Saints — I  go  on  an  Exploring  Trip — I 
Find  the  Land  Described  by  President  Young — I  Endeavor 
to  Make  a  Purchase  but  Fail 352 

CHAPTER   LIII. 

Other  Brethren  Visit  my  Proposed  Purchase — Their  Good  Report 
— Death  of  my  Son,  Wiley — My  Return  to  Salt  Lake  City — 
A  New  Invention 360 

CHAPTER  LIV. 

The  Apache  Indians — Ideas  Concerning  God — A  Statement  Con- 
cerning the  Jesuits — Treachery  of  Kerker — Slaughter  of  the 
Apaches  — The  Navajoes — Colonel  Chavez'  Horse  Race — 
Loss  of  Government  Horses — War  with  this  Tribe— The 
Yaqui    Tribe — The    Tarumaries — A  Peculiar  Custom  .    .     .     363 


INDEX.  XV 

CHAPTER.    LV. 

PAGE. 

Letter  to  the  Deseret  News — A  Brief  Review  of  Mexican  History 
— Characteristics  of  the  People — Land  Grants  and  Purchases 
— Peculiarities  of  Land  Titles — The  Climate  of  Mexico  .    .     372 


porty  Year5  f\r[\OT)(^  t\)e  li^diaps. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Cross  the  Plains  with  Volunteers  to  Engage  in  War  with  Mexico — 
Attacked  by  Mounted  Comanches — Remain  in  Mexico  about 
Three  Years  after  the  War — Indulge  in  many  of  the  Wild  and 
Reckless  Ways  of  the  People,  but  Abstain  from  Strong  Drink  and 
the  Worst  Vices — Acquire  a  Knowledge  of  the  Spanish  Language. 

IN  THE  year  1847,  ^  crossed  the  plains  with  the  volun- 
teers from  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  going  out  to  take 
part  in  the  war  with  Mexico.  At  that  time  the  Com- 
anche Indians  were  a  power  on  the  plains.  The  Battal- 
ion I  belonged  to  was  attacked  while  in  camp  on  the 
Arkansas  River.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  were 
sand  hills.  Wood  was  very  scarce  in  the  region  and  on 
arriving  in  camp,  it  was  customary  for  a  number  of  the 
most  active  young  men  to  go  out  in  search  of  fuel,  gen- 
erally "buffalo  chips." 

On  looking  across  the  river  there  was  seen  a  few 
small  piles  of  what  looked  like  driftwood.  This  had  been 
placed  there  by  the  Indians  as  a  decoy ;  but  no  suspicion 
was  felt  at  the  time,  as  we  had  heretofore  seen  no  Indians, 
neither  was  there  anyone  along  who  understood  the  In- 
dians' "tricks." 

Some  thirty  men  started  in  haste  for  this  wood. 
Only  one  man  taking  his  gun,  one  other  had  a  small 
pocket  pistol.  A  few  of  the  most  active  men  secured 
the  wood  piled  up,  whilst  the  others  remained  gathering 


1 8  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

the  scattered  sticks  and  picking  berries  that  grew  among 
the  sand-hills.  Suddenly  there  charged  upon  them  about 
twenty-five  mounted  Comanches.  Using  their  long, 
sharp  spears  they  would  ride  a  man  down,  spear  him 
through,  catch  him  by  the  hair,  and  scalp  him  without 
dismounting.  They  killed  and  scalped  eight  men, 
wounding  and  scalping  another  that  recovered.  Al- 
though there  was  a  battalion  of  infantry  and  a  company 
of  cavalry  in  camp,  this  was  done  before  help  could  reach 
the  men.  The  men  in  camp  rushed  across  the  river, 
firing  at  the  Indians,  who  retreated  as  soon  as  they  were 
in  danger.  The  cavalry  company  mounted  and  pursued 
for  some  time  but  could  not  overtake  the  Indians.  This 
was  my  first  introduction  to  Indians. 

After  this  we  were  more  watchful.  Many  attacks 
were  made  and  men  killed  in  those  days  in  open  day- 
light in  what  might  be  termed  a  fair  field  fight,  while 
others  were  surprised,  and  sometimes  whole  parties 
murdered,  as  was  the  mail  company  at  Wagon  Mound 
in  1849.     Some  of  them  were  personal  friends  of  mine. 

At  that  time,  in  common  with  white  men  generally, 
I  looked  upon  all  Indians  as  fit  only  to  be  killed. 

After  the  war  was  over,  I  remained  in  Mexico  until 
July,  1850.  Of  my  stay  in  that  country  for  some  three 
years,  I  will  give  only  a  brief  sketch  and  write  that  which 
has  a  bearing  on  my  future  life  and  actions,  as  will  be 
given  in  this  work.  There  are  many  things  that  have 
occurred  in  my  experience  which  might  be  interesting  to 
some  but  not  to  the  general  reader. 

I  will  say  this,  and  say  it  truly,  I  took  part  in  many 
ways  in  the  wild,  reckless  life  that  was  common  in  that 
land,  so  much  so  that  I  often  felt  condemned,  and  longed 
for  something  to  call  me  away  from  where  I  was,  and 
lead   me  from   the  evils   I  was   surrounded   by.      I  had 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 9 

much  pride,  always  believing  myself  better  than  many 
others.  This  caused  me  to  preserve  myself  from  de- 
gradation. There  was  a  feeling  continually  with  me, 
that  if  I  would  keep  my  body  pure  and  healthy,  I  would 
yet  find  a  condition  in  life  that  would  be  satisfactory  to 
me. 

This  spirit  enabled  me  to  abstain  from  strong  drink 
and  other  worse  vices  that  I  could  see  were  destroying 
the  lives  of  my  associates.  Notwithstanding  this,  I  found 
enough  to  practice  in  the  way  of  gambling,  swearing, 
fighting,  and  other  rough  conduct  to  feel  heartily  con- 
demned in  my  own  conscience. 

While  in  Mexico  I  formed  a  kindly  feeling  toward 
many  of  the  Mexican  people,  studied  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage, so  as  to  read  and  write  it  and  act  as  interpreter. 

My  mind  often  reverts  to  those  days.  I  had  been  left 
an  orphan  at  eleven  years  of  age.  I  then  left  all  my  friends 
and  relatives  and  went  out  into  the  world  alone,  probably 
as  willful  a  boy  as  ever  lived.  No  one  could  control  me 
by  any  other  means  than  kindness,  and  this  I  did  not 
often  meet  with.  The  result  was,  I  found  myself  among 
rough  people  in  a  wild  country  among  those  who  knew 
no  law  but  the  knife  and  pistol.  The  old  Texas  Rangers 
and  many  of  the  Missouri  planters  being  the  leading 
characters. 

I  often  wonder  how  I  got  through,  and  I  can  only 
account  for  it  in  one  way :  I  did  not  like  this  way  of  liv- 
ing. I  felt  condemned,  and  often  asked  God  in  all  earn- 
estness to  help  me  to  see  what  was  right,  and  how  to 
serve  Him  ;  telling  Him  I  wanted  to  know  positively,  and 
not  be  deceived.  I  felt  that  the  people  of  this  age  ought 
to  have  prophets  to  guide  them,  the  same  as  of  old,  and 
that  it  was  not  a  "square  thing"  to  leave  them  without 
anything  but  the  Bible,  for  that  could  not  be  sufficient  or 


20  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

the  people  would  not  dispute  so  much  over  it.  These 
feelings  grew  upon  me,  and  I  began  to  be  more  careful 
of  my  conduct,  and  felt  a  greater  desire  to  leave  the 
country. 


CHAPTER  11. 


Learn  of  the  "Mormons" — Leave  with  a  Company  bound  for  Salt 
Lake  Valley  with  Eight  Thousand  Sheep — My  First  "  Big  Scare" 
— Surrounded  and  Threatened  by  Indians  Many  Times  on  the 
Road — Surrounded  by  Five  Hundred  well-armed  Warriors  De- 
manding the  Death  of  a  Man  from  our  Camp,  as  the  Chiefs  son 
had  Died — Meet  with  an  Accident  which  nearly  Resulted  in  my 
Death. 

IN  THE  summer  of  1850,  quite  a  large  company  fitted 
up  at  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  to  go  to  California 
by  the  old  Spanish  trail,  leading  to  Salt  Lake ;  thence  by 
the  northern  route  to  Upper  California.  I  had  heard 
some  strange  stories  about  the  Mormons,  such  as  were 
common  at  that  time.  I  heard  of  the  Mormon  Battalion 
and  Pioneer  move  to  Great  Salt  Lake,  a  country  then 
only  known  as  the  "Great  Desert  of  America,"  that  the 
Mormons  had  moved  into  the  desert  away  from  every- 
one, etc.  My  sympathy  was  drawn  toward  them,  for  I 
had  often  felt  as  though  I  wanted  to  find  something  dif- 
ferent from  anything  yet  seen.  So  when  I  heard  of  this 
company  being  made  up  to  go  through  the  Salt  Lake 
country,  I  determined  to  make  the  trip  with  them. 

At  that  time  the   Ute  nation  was  very  powerful, 
possessing  the  country  from  near  the  settlements  of  New 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  21 

Mexico  clear  to  Utah  Valley.  They  were  known  as  a 
proud,  haughty  people,  demanding  tribute  from  all  who 
passed  through  their  country,  even  in  times  of  peace. 
The  party  fitting  up  were  taking  through  some  eight 
thousand  head  of  sheep.  The  old  mountaineers  prophe- 
sied that  we  would  never  get  through  the  Ute  country 
with  so  much  to  tempt  the  Indians. 

However  the  owners  concluded  to  risk  the  venture, 
as  mutton  was  very  high  at  the  mines  in  California. 

We  left  the  settlements  of  New  Mexico  at  Abiquin, 
the  trail  soon  entering  the  wild  mountain  country,  which 
was  at  that  time  only  known  to  a  few  venturesome  traders, 
and  to  Mexicans.  Very  few  white  men  had  ever  been 
through  the  country.  At  the  time  of  our  trip  the  Utes 
were  supposed  to  be  at  peace ;  but  peace  in  those  days 
meant  that  if  they  could  rob  without  killing  you,  all  well ; 
but  if  necessary  to  do  a  little  killing  without  scalping  they 
considered  themselves  quite  friendly.  Scalping  means 
hating.  Often,  when  remonstrating  with  Indians  for  kill- 
ing people,  they  would  say  they  did  not  scalp  them.  On 
enquiring  what  this  meant,  I  finally  learned  that  the 
Indians  believed  that  in  the  spirit  world  friends  recog- 
nized each  other  by  the  hair,  and  when  they  were  scalped 
did  not  know  one  another.  This  accounts  for  the  great 
risk  they  will  run  to  remove  those  killed  in  battle  to 
prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Nothing  exciting  occurred  for  several  days  after  leav- 
ing the  settlements. 

Our  first  meeting  with  Indians  was  on  the  Rio  Piedras, 
a  day's  travel  beyond  the  crossing  of  the  Rio  San  Juan. 
Here  I  got  my  first  scare. 

The  river  bottom  was  spotted  with  cottonwood  trees 
and  willow  groves.  On  arriving  in  camp,  a  small  party 
of  us  unsaddled  and  started   to   the  river  to  take  a  bath. 


2  2  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

passing  through  several  yards  of  willows  before  getting 
to  the  river,  While  enjoying  ourselves  bathing,  we  heard 
a  volley  of  rifle  shots  from  the  direction  of  camp.  The 
shots  continued  to  rattle  for  some  time  ;  then  a  stray  shot 
occasionally  finishing  off  just  as  a  battle  with  Indians 
naturally  would.  We  were  out  of  the  water  and  dressed 
in  short  order,  fully  believing  that  our  camp  had  been 
attacked  and  probably  all  killed.  We  rushed  for  the 
brush  to  hide.  I  got  separated  from  the  rest,  hid  myself 
and  laid  quiet  reflecting  upon  my  situation.  My  only 
chance  for  life  seemed  to  be  to  keep  hid  until  night,  then 
try  and  get  on  the  trail  and  travel  back  to  the  settlements, 
over  one  hundred  miles  distant.  This  I  fully  expected 
to  try  and  hoped  to  accomplish. 

Finally  I  gained  courage  enough  to  creep  to  the 
edge  of  the  willows  toward  camp  to  see  if  I  could  dis- 
cover what  had  become  of  the  camp.  In  and  around 
where  we  had  unsaddled,  I  saw  a  great  lot  of  savage 
looking  Indians  on  horseback ;  some  were  still,  others 
moving  about.  I  dodged  down  now  fully  convinced  that 
all  our  company  was  killed.  I  lay  for  a  few  moments  in 
terrible  fear.  When  I  looked  out  again,  taking  a  careful 
survey  of  camp  I  discerned  one  of  our  company  hanging 
a  camp-kettle  over  a  fire.  Soon  I  saw  some  others 
engaged  in  camp  work.  I  now  concluded  that  the  Indians 
had  spared  a  few  and  put  them  to  cooking,  so  I  decided 
to  surrender  as  a  prisoner.  When  I  approached  near 
camp  I  saw  most  of  the  company  attending  to  their  own 
affairs  as  usual. 

I  concluded  to  say  nothing  about  my  scare  and 
walked  in  quite  unconcernedly;  asked  what  they  had 
been  firing  at,  when  I  was  told  that  just  as  the  Indians 
came  into  camp  a  band  of  deer  had  run  by.  Both  Indians 
and  whites  had  been  firing  at,  and  had  killed  several  deer. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  23 

The  Indians  were  perfectly  friendly,  and  all  hands  were 
making  ready  to  enjoy  a  feast  of  fat  venison.  I  kept 
silent;  no  one  but  myself  knew  how  I  suffered  during 
my  first  ''big  scare." 

I  never  questioned  my  companions  about  our  mutual 
fright  neither  did  they  ever  make  any  reference  to  the 
affair,  why  I  do  not  know  unless  they,  like  myself,  were 
afraid  of  being  laughed  at. 

We  were  surrounded  and  threatened  by  the  Indians 
many  times  on  the  road;  but  through  the  influence  of 
our  guide  and  interpreter,  we  were  allowed  to  pass  along 
on  easy  terms.  We  had  for  guide  Thomas  Chacon,  a 
Mexican  Indian,  the  same  who  will  be  remembered  by 
many  of  the  Mormon  Battalion,  as  he  traveled  in  com- 
pany with  them  as  assistant  guide,  and  returned  and 
wintered  at  the  old  fort  in  Salt  Lake  in  1847-48. 

Once  at  the  bend  of  the  Dolores  river  our  chances 
for  life  seemed  very  slim.  We  were  surrounded  by  over 
five  hundred  warriors,  well  armed.  We  numbered  about 
fifty  men,  mostly  Americans.  The  chief  had  sent  a  dep- 
utation to  our  camp  on  the  Mancos  river,  the  day  before, 
stating  that  his  son  had  died,  and  that  either  an  Amer- 
ican or  Mexican  would  be  demanded  from  our  camp 
for  a  sacrifice,  and  if  not  given  up  peaceably,  war  would 
be  opened  upon  us,  and  all  would  be  killed.  This  de- 
mand was  made  by  the  old  Elk  Mountain  chief.  Our 
interpreter,  who  had  lived  many  years  among  these 
Indians,  felt  quite  uneasy,  telling  us  of  the  power  of  this 
chief  and  his  tribe.  He  did  not  advise  us  to  give  up  a 
man,  but  probably  would  not  have  objected,  as  he  knew 
we  could  not  spare  him,  he  being  the  only  one  who  knew 
the  trail.  Captain  Angley,  who  had  charge  of  this  com- 
pany, looked  upon  the  threat  as  an  insult,  and  told  the 
Indians  to  say  to  their  chief  that  he  had  no  men  to  vol- 


24  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

untarlly  give  up,  but  plenty  to  fight ;  if  he  wanted  any 
to  kill  he  would  have  to  fight  for  them. 

We  were  a  half  day's  march  from  the  great  chief's 
camp,  and  I  will  admit  that  I  was  frightened,  for  I  was 
much  under  the  influence  of  the  old  guide,  being  con- 
versant with  his  language.  I  was  in  the  habit  of  riding 
along  with  him  and  listening  to  his  talk  about  the  Indians; 
he  often  told  me  how  he  succeeded  in  making  peace  with 
them. 

Previous  to  this  time  we  had  had  several  **  close 
calls,"  but  Old  Thomas  seemed  to  always  have  some 
way  to  talk  the  Indians  into  peace.  This  time  he 
appeared  uneasy  and  fearful.  On  arriving  at  the  Big 
Bend  of  the  Dolores,  we  took  the  best  position  possible 
for  defence,  where  there  was  some  fallen  timber.  Soon 
the  Indians  commenced  crossing  the  river  above  us  on 
horseback  and  fully  prepared  for  battle.  There  were 
about  fifty  of  them,  all  well  armed  and  mounted.  They 
took  position  some  two  hundred  yards  from  camp  in  a 
hne  facing  us,  and  there  stood.  I  was  keen  to  com- 
mence firing  upon  them,  thinking  if  we  got  in  the  first 
shot  we  would  be  more  likely  to  conquer  and  several  of 
the  company  felt  the  same ;  but  when  we  tried  to  urge 
this  upon  the  captain  and  Old  Thomas — for  nothing  was 
done  without  the  guide's  consent  when  Indians  were  in 
the  question — the  old  man  smiled  and  said,  ''Wait, 
friend,  there  ain't  enough  yet  to  shoot  at ;  you  might  miss 
'em."  By  this  time  we  had  learned  that  the  old  guide's 
wisdom  and  policy  had  saved  us,  when  if  a  shot  had 
been  fired  we  would  doubtless  have  been  destroyed. 

It  was  not  long  until  we  understood  his  meaning ; 
we  saw  others  coming  in  tens  and  twenties  and  doing  as 
the  first  had  done  till  they  formed  a  half-circle  around  us. 
We  were  near  the  bank  of  the   river,   our  rear  being 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  25 

somewhat  protected  by  the  bank  and  width  of  the 
stream.  (In  those  days  nothing  but  old  fashioned  Ken- 
tucky rifles  were  in  use.)  Others  followed  till  they  were 
several  files  deep.  There  were  not  less  than  five  hun- 
dred, and  all  had  their  arms  ready  in  a  threatening  atti- 
tude. After  approaching  to  within  some  fifty  yards  of 
camp,  where  we  had  got  behind  logs  and  piled  up  our 
packs  in  the  best  way  possible  for  defense.  The  chief, 
with  a  few  others,  rode  a  little  forward  and  in  a  loud 
voice  made  known  his  wants,  showing  us  his  warriors 
with  arms  ready,  demanding  that  we  at  once  should  sub- 
mit. This  was  interpreted  to  the  captain  by  the  guide. 
The  captain  and  most  of  the  company  understood  Span- 
ish. I  thought  surely  our  day  had  come,  and  so  did 
many  others,  but  all  felt  they  would  rather  die  fighting 
than  to  cowardly  submit  to  such  an  arrogant  and  unrea- 
sonable demand. 

The  captain  requested  the  chief  to  approach  nearer, 
saying  that  he  did  not  wish  any  trouble  and  desired  to 
pass  through  the  country  in  peace,  and  was  willing  to 
respect  all  his  rights.  At  this  the  chief  approached  and 
finally,  by  much  persuasion,  he  got  off  his  horse,  followed 
by  a  few  others,  the  main  body  keeping  their  places  in 
stolid  silence.  The  captain  carefully  passed  the  word  so 
that  it  went  through  camp,  that  if  shooting  had  to  be 
done,  he  would  "open  the  ball."  He  did  not  expect 
them  to  attack  us  in  our  present  position,  but  if  peace 
could  not  be  made  he  intended  to  shoot  the  chief  down. 
It  was  about  two  o'clock  when  this  commenced.  The  par- 
ley continued  until  near  sundown  before  peace  was  decided 
upon,  but  it  was  finally  concluded  after  agreeing  to  let 
the  chief  have  some  beads,  paints,  tobacco,  etc.,  articles 
we  had  for  the  purpose  of  making  treaties.  In  those 
days,    before    the   white   men   taught    them    to    lie    and 


26  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

betray,  the  word  of  an  Indian  was  sacred.  Not  so 
now. 

The  moment  the  captain  spoke  telling  us  all  was 
right,  there  was  a  general  hand-shaking,  and  what  time 
was  left  before  night  was  spent  in  trading  and  no  uneasi- 
ness was  felt  by  any  of  the  company,  for  all  had  perfect 
confidence  in  the  word  of  the  Indians ;  neither  were  we 
deceived. 

During  the  parley,  when  the  Indians  found  they 
could  not  obtain  a  man,  the  next  thing  they  wanted  was 
flour.  They  were  told  we  had  none  to  spare,  but  would 
give  them  such  presents  as  have  already  been  mentioned. 
They  persisted  in  wanting  flour.  We  were  getting  short 
and  so  could  not  spare  any.  While  the  debate  was 
going  on  an  Indian  went  and  got  his  blanket  full  of  good 
dried  meat,  rode  up  near  the  captain,  who  was  sitting 
down,  and  threw  the  meat  on  to  him,  saying,  "You  poor, 
hungry  dog,  if  you  have  nothing  for  us  we  can  give  you 
something."  The  captain  took  it  coolly  and  thanked 
him  for  it.  When  they  found  they  could  get  nothing 
more  they  accepted  the  presents  offered. 

Some  may  ask,  "What  of  all  this?  There  was  no 
one  killed ;  nothing  of  a  blood  and  thunder  character  to 
admire."  I  will  say  to  such:  Just  stop  reading  this  book, 
for  it  is  not  of  the  blood  and  thunder  style,  such  are 
written  by  authors  who  have  never  seen  what  they  write 
about.  I  am  simply  telling  that  which  I  have  seen, 
known  of  and  taken  part  in.  I  cannot  help  whether  it 
pleases  or  not.  I  can  only  tell  it  as  it  occurred,  or  appeared 
to  me  at  the  time ;  neither  do  I  make  any  allowance  for 
lack  of  memory.  Anything  that  was  not  impressed  suf- 
ficiently upon  my  mind  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence  so 
as  to  remember  the  same,  I  consider  not  worth  relating. 

I  have  had  some   close   calls   in   my  life ;  but  those 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  27 

just  related  occupied  my  attention  about  as  closely  for  a 
short  time  as  anything  that  ever  occurred. 

A  few  days  after  this,  just  before  reaching  Grand 
river,  we  came  very  near  opening  fire  on  another  party 
of  Indians.  About  half  of  the  company  went  ahead 
daily  as  a  front  guard,  and  just  as  we  were  emerging 
from  a  cedar  grove  the  guide  cried  out:  "Now  we  have 
to  fight,  sure ;  there  comes  a  war  party  full  drive  for 
fight."  Sure  enough.  There  they  came,  some  five  or 
six  hundred  yards  away,  out  of  a  ravine  on  to  a  rise  of 
ground  some  three  hundred  yards  distant.  We  dodged 
back  into  the  cedars,  every  man  taking  his  tree.  The 
Indians  cautiously  approached  to  within  one  hundred 
yards,  there  being  a  few  scattering  cedars  in  their  direc- 
tion. The  guide  took  them  for  Navajoes  ;  he  was  afraid 
of  them,  but  friendly  with  the  Utes.  As  the  Indians 
were  fully  in  earnest  and  seeking  to  get  an  advantage, 
we  were  about  to  commence  firing  to  try  and  pick  some 
of  them  off  or  keep  them  back  until  the  rest  of  our  com- 
pany could  come  up.  Just  at  this  critical  moment  one  of 
our  men  said,  'Tf  there  is  one  who  will  follow  me  I  will 
go  out  and  make  friendly  signs.  May  be  they  are 
friends."  I  felt  afraid,  but  being  a  boy  I  wanted  to 
appear  brave,  so  I  told  him  I  would  go  ;  we  went  out  to 
an  opening  with  our  guns  ready  for  use.  As  soon  as  the 
Indians  saw  us  they  called  out  "Friends?"  and  came 
toward  us  making  friendly  signs. 

We  told  them  if  they  were  friends  to  stop  until 
Thomas  could  come.  The  old  fellow  was  so  sure  they 
were  hostile  Navajoes  that  he  had  got  as  far  away  as 
convenient,  but  seeing  they  had  not  fired  on  us  he  picked 
up  courage  and  came  to  where  we  stood  facing  the 
Indians  with  our  guns  aimed  at  them.  Mine  was  cocked, 
and  I  can  well  remember  placing  my  finger  on  the  trigger 


28  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

several  times  with  dead  aim  at  the  one  I  supposed  to  be 
the  chief.  As  soon  as  Old  Thomas  showed  himself  there 
was  a  big  laugh  all  around  at  the  mistake,  they  having 
mistaken  us  for  Navajoes  the  same  as  we  did  them. 
They  were  on  the  war  path  hunting  Navajoes  who  had 
just  made  a  heavy  raid  upon  them.  Soon  all  was  well, 
as  these  Indians  were  Utes  and  friendly  with  the  guide, 
he  having  lived  with  this  same  band  several  years.  These 
were  the  same  Indians  who  afterwards  broke  up  the 
Grand  Valley  or  Elk  Mountain  settlement.  During  the 
excitement,  after  the  Indians  were  recognized,  an  acci- 
dental shot  was  fired,  wounding  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Tattersall  severely  in  the  leg.  This  came  near  starting 
a  fight,  as  many  thought  it  came  from  the  Indians.  I  am 
satisfied  that  much  blood  has  been  shed,  and  many  cruel 
wars  brought  on  by  some  little  act  that  might  have  been 
avoided.  Here  are  two  cases  within  a  few  days  that 
seemed  certain  fight,  and  to  fight  meant  certain  death  ; 
for  in  those  days  the  Indians  were  ten  to  one  of  us  on 
the  ground,  and  plenty  more  to  come. 

I  now  come  to  the  place  where  my  whole  feelings 
changed  toward  the  Indians,  and  as  the  accident  that  I 
am  about  to  mention  seemingly  had  an  effect  on  my  future 
life,  I  will  beg  leave  to  write  freely.  From  this  time  dates 
my  friendship  for  the  red  man,  which  many  think  so 
strange.  Until  this  time  I  had  felt  about  the  same  as  my 
associates  did  toward  the  natives,  possibly  I  was  not  so 
bitter  as  many.  There  seems  to  be  something  providen- 
tial in  my  experience  so  far  in  never  having  had  to  fight 
with  them.  I  had  never  been  required  to  shed  their 
blood,  and  I  now  made  up  my  mind  I  never  would,  if-  it 
could  possibly  be  avoided. 

About  the  middle  of  August,  1850,"  we  were  camped 
on  Green  river,  not  far  from  where  the  Denver  &  Rio 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  29 

Grand  Railway  now  crosses  It.  I  shot  myself  acciden- 
tally ;  the  wound  was  one  of  the  most  dangerous  possible, 
not  to  prove  fatal.  When  I  found  where  the  ball  had 
entered  my  clothing,  I  took  out  the  other  pistol  from  the 
holster  with  the  intention  of  "finishing  the  job."  The 
ball  had  struck  the  waist  button  of  my  pants  as  I  was 
standing  by  the  side  of  my  mule.  I  was  placing  the 
pistol  in  the  holster,  after  saddling  up,  when  the  hammer 
caught  on  the  edge  of  the  holster,  pulling  it  back  slightly, 
when  it  slipped  and  went  off  The  ball  ranged  downward, 
entering  the  groin  and  thigh,  passing  through  some  four- 
teen inches  of  flesh.  Some  good  spirit  told  me  to  hold 
on,  that  I  would  live.  Almost  every  one  in  the  company 
expressed  the  belief  that  I  would  die. 

We  were  about  to  cross  the  river,  which  was  up  to 
its  highest  mark.  We  had  to  cross  on  rafts  made  of  half 
decayed  cottonwood  logs  which  made  it  very  dangerous. 
I  suffered  terribly  during  the  day,  once  having  the  lock- 
jaw. I  could  hear  remarks  being  made  that  I  was  dying. 
When  I  rallied  enough  to  speak,  the  first  use  I  made  of 
my  tongue  was  to  give  all  a  good  cursing,  telling  them  I 
would  live  longer  than  any  such  a  set  who  were  so 
willing  to  give  fne  up.  I  felt  at  the  time  that  I  would  try 
and  live  just  for  spite,  for  I  fully  realized  I  was  looked 
upon  as  an  incumbrance.  They  could  not  see  how  they 
were  to  take  care  of  me,  as  we  were  traveling  with  pack 
animals.  I  was  left  most  of  the  day  entirely  alone,  all 
hands  being  occupied  in  rafting  over  the  provisions  and 
baggage.  I  lay  in  the  shade  of  a  cottonwood  tree,  think- 
ing that  my  companions  wanted  me  to  die,  so  as  to  get 
rid  of  bothering  with  me.  I  was  some  distance  from 
them,  and  every  half-hour  I  would  give  a  yell  just  to  let 
them  know  that  I  was  not  dead.  Before  night  I  was 
placed  on  a  raft  and  floated  over  to  camp.      There  had 


30  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

been  much  delay  in  crossing,  and  it  was  found  that  at 
this  rate  it  would  take  three  days  to  get  over.  This  gave 
some  hope  that  I  would  have  time  to  die  decently,  and 
the  company  would  have  no  further  trouble  with  me  only 
to  care  for  me  while  I  remained.  Old  Thomas  was  kind 
to  me  and  felt  as  though  I  might  live  if  I  had  a  little 
attention. 

There  was  a  camp  of  Indians  of  Tabby's  band  not 
far  from  us.  My  old  friend,  the  guide,  went  and  told  the 
Indians  about  me,  saying  I  was  his  boy,  an  expression 
that  means  a  great  deal  among  the  Indians,  meaning 
that  I  was  the  same  as  a  son  to  him  in  friendship.  The 
Indians  came,  both  men  and  women,  and  I  can  never 
forget  their  expression  of  sympathy,  or  their  looks  of 
kindness.  They  offered  to  take  me  and  try  to  cure  me. 
This  seemed  to  stir  up  the  feelings  of  some  of  my  com- 
panions, and  they  began  to  discuss  the  possibility  of 
taking  me  along.  Finally,  a  few  of  the  kindest  hearted 
determined  to  try  it ;  so  a  rig  was  gotten  up,  and  Old 
Thomas  advised  me  to  endeavor  to  get  to  the  Mormon 
settlements,  telling  me  about  their  goodness,  and  that 
if  I  could  reach  them,  they  would  care  for  me.  I  felt 
almost  disappointed  not  to  go  with  the  Indians,  for  my 
heart  was  melted  toward  them,  and  I  felt  as  though 
I  could  always  be  their  friend  and  trust  them,  and  I  can 
truly  say  that  this  feeling  has  ever  remained  with  me.  I 
felt  to  be  guided  by  the  old  man,  for  his  judgment  was 
generally  good,  and  I  knew  him  to  be  a  true  friend.  His 
description  of  the  Mormons  seemed  strange  to  me, 
and  I  told  him  they  were  a  bad  people,  who  had  been 
driven  out  from  the  States  because  they  were  thieves  and 
murderers,  and  that  for  their  bad  conduct  they  were 
banished  from  decent  people.  His  reply  astonished  me. 
He   asked,   ''How  can  you  say  that?     There  is  not  one 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  3 1 

word  true.  I  traveled  with  the  Mormon  soldiers  from 
Santa  Fe  to  Cailfornia  ;  they  never  stole  anything  from 
the  settlements  like  the  other  soldiers  did.  The  Mor- 
mons are  honest  and  have  no  bad  habits  like  other  people. 
I  came  back  with  some  of  them  to  Salt  Lake  and  remained 
there  last  winter.  I  traded  with  the  Indians  and  Mor- 
mons, and  lived  with  them.  The  Mormons  have  no 
harlots  or  bad  people  among  them,  and  all  those  stories 
are  lies;  why  do  you  speak  so  about  them?"  The  old 
fellow  seemed  terribly  offended  at  my  words.  I  felt  there 
was  something  wrong.  I  told  him  I  knew  nothing  about 
the  Mormons,  that  I  had  only  told  him  what  others  said. 
He  replied,  "Then  wait  and  see  for  yourself;  they  are 
the  best  people  you  ever  saw."  This  caused  me  to  re- 
flect and  wonder  why  such  stories  were  told  of  the  Mor- 
mons, for  I  not  only  had  confidence  in  the  old  guide's 
truthfulness,  but  I  believed  he  had  been  with  the  people 
enough  to  know  them. 

A  frame  was  made  and  placed  upon  the  back  of  a 
good  stout  mule,  the  foundation  being  a  Mexican  Ap- 
parejo.  I  had  to  sit  entirely  above  the  mule,  as  the 
wound  would  not  allow  to  sit  in  a  saddle.  This  made 
the  load  top-heavy.  The  trail  from  Green  river  down 
Spanish  Fork  canyon,  was  quite  rough  and  steep  in 
many  places.  Guy  ropes  were  rigged,  and  three  men 
took  care  of  me,  and  I  must  say  that  after  taking 
the  labor  in  hand  to  bring  me  in,  all  hands  became  inter- 
ested and  I  was  treated  with  great  kindness. 

I  suffered  a  great  deal  during  the  fifteen  days  I  thus 
journeyed,  but  I  never  lost  courage.  Our  drives  were 
short ;  sometimes  being  two  days  in  a  camp  engaged  in 
cutting  roads  through  the  brush  for  the  sheep  to  pass. 
This  gave  me  a  chance  to  rest.  I  attended  to  my  wound 
myself,  as  I  could  not  bear  anyone  else  to  touch  it ;  nei- 


32  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

ther  would  I  take  any  one's  advice  about  dressing  it.  I 
felt  like  being  my  own  doctor.  I  have  always  believed 
that  if  I  had  been  in  a  good  hospital,  I  would  have  been 
''done  for,"  as  the  wound  was  terrible.  I  starved  myself 
almost  to  death — an  idea  obtained  from  two  men's  ex- 
perience in  southern  Arizona.  These  two  men,  Green 
Marshall  and  Robert  Ward,  left  Santa  Fe  with  a  party 
going  to  California  by  the  Southern  Trail.  Close  by 
where  Silver  City  now  is,  the  party  was  attacked,  as  sup- 
posed, by  Apache  Indians ;  all  were  left  for  dead.  The 
surprise  occurred  early  in  the  morning.  About  noon 
Marshall  and  Ward  recovered  consciousness.  They  were 
stripped  and  both  wounded  in  several  places  and  almost 
perishing  for  water,  they  being  in  a  dry  camp.  They 
started  for  water  and  after  going  a  short  distance  they 
separated,  each  in  time  finding  water,  but  they  never 
met  until  reaching  settlements. 

According  to  the  account  given  by  each  of  them, 
on  arriving  at  the  Mexican  settlements,  they  were  out 
some  twelve  days  with  scarcely  anything  to  eat,  each  one 
supposing  the  other  dead  ;  and  it  was  several  days  before 
they  heard  of  each  other,  having  come  into  settlements 
that  were  some  distance  apart.  The  wounds  of  each 
had  seemingly  dried  up  and  healed  for  the  want  of  some- 
thing to  feed  on. 

I  was  well  acquainted  with  both  men,  one  being  a 
relative.  I  took  much  interest  in  their  case,  as  it  was  one 
of  the  worst  on  record.  I  felt  like  trying  as  much  as 
possible  the  same  regime,  and  believe  to  this  day,  in  case 
of  severe  wounds,  that  the  system  should  be  reduced  by 
abstinence  to  the  lowest  possible  living  condition. 
Nature  so  directs  many  of  the  lower  animal  creation. 
I  have  known  some  domestic  animals,  as  well  as 
wild  ones,  that  on  being  dangerously  wounded  would  hide 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  33 

Up  for  days  without  food  or  drink  and  come  out  well  in 
time. 

Finally  on  the  6th  of  September,  1850,  we  came 
in  sight  of  a  settlement,  then  a  fort  on  the  Provo  river. 
This  surprised  us  considerably  for  we  had  not  expected 
to  meet  anyone  before  reaching  Salt  Lake  City. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  peculiar  feelings  that  came 
over  me  when  we  arrived  at  the  fort.  The  little 
party  with  me  had  become  separated  from  the  main 
company  while  coming  down  Spanish  Fork  Canyon, 
and  we  were  considerably  behind  when  we  saw  signs 
of  settlements.  We  felt  somewhat  uneasy  for  fear  "the 
bad  Mormons"  would  take  advantage  of  us  and  rob^us, 
as  we  had  some  money.  When  the  company  of  fifty 
were  all  together  we  felt  as  though  we  could  stand  the 
Mormons  off,  but  the  four  of  us  counting  myself,  I 
wounded  and  weak,  feared  we  might  be  taken  in.  I  had 
my  pistols  by  me  and  told  the  boys  I  would  do  my  best, 
if  molested.  When  we  got  to  the  fort  instead  of  trouble 
we  found  the  people  with  about  the  same  kindly  look  of 
the  eye  and  expression  of  sympathy  as  was  manifested  by 
the  Indians  on  Green  river.  There  are  many  now  living 
in  Provo  who  remember  the  circumstance,  and  how  I 
looked,  a  mere  skeleton  sitting  on  the  top  of  a  mule. 
The  Indians  also  remember  me  to  this  day  from  these 
circumstances,  and  call  me  "  Chacon's  boy."  I  now 
felt  conquered  as  far  as  Mormon  goodness  was  con- 
cerned for  many  offered  me  help  if  needed. 

I  was  at  first  tempted  to  accept  their  kind  offers,  but 
a  spirit  of  pride  came  over  me.  It  seemed  humiliating  to 
receive  a  favor  under  any  circumstances,  so  I  went  into 
camp  with  the  rest.  I  was  now  out  of  danger ;  my 
wound  having  done  well,  but  the  position  in  which  I  had 
to  ride  had  set  the  muscles  so  that  crawling  on  hands 


34  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

and  knees  was  my  only  means  of  moving  about ;  still  I  had 
not  lost  my  spirits.  I  had  started  to  California  to  get 
rich  and  did  not  want  to  fail. 

The  Mormons  often  visited  our  camp,  selling  us 
butter,  vegetables,  and  such  supplies  as  they  had  to 
spare.  Owing  to  the  conflicting  stories  I  had  heard 
about  them,  I  watched  them  very  closely.  Some  of  our 
company  were  Missouri  mobocrats,  who  told  hard  stories 
about  the  Mormons.  These  they  related  to  me  as  though 
they  were  their  own  personal  experiences  with  them. 
Some  of  these  men  I  had  known  for  years  and  looked 
upon  them  as  men  of  truth  and  honor.  How  then  could 
I  help  believing  their  stories  ?  And  yet,  how  could  I 
believe  people  to  be  such  monsters  of  iniquity  as  the 
Mormons  must  have  been  if  these  stories  were  true? 
When  looking  at  their  friendly  eyes  and  hearing  their 
voices  of  sympathy,  I  could  see  nothing  that  indicated 
depravity,  but  on  the  contrary,  all  seemed  industrious, 
kind,  honest  and  peaceable,  ever  ready  to  do  us  a  favor 
or  give  any  wanted  information  frankly,  without  any  show 
of  craftiness  whatever.  To  this  day  it  is  a  mystery  to 
me  how  anyone  can  call  the  Mormon  people  crafty  and 
dishonest.  That  individuals  among  us  may  be,  is  too 
true  ;  but  as  a  people  we  have  a  right  to  be  judged 
collectively,  let  each  person  answer  for  himself.  I  was 
sorely  perplexed,  but  each  day  induced  a  more  friendly 
feeling  toward  the  Mormons.  As  yet  I  had  never  heard 
a  word  of  their  doctrine,  or  history,  not  even  having 
heard  of  Joseph  Smith's  martyrdom.  In  fact,  I  knew 
nothing  about  them. 

One  of  our  company,  who  boasted  of  his  cruel  ex- 
ploits in  Missouri,  went  up  to  the  fort  and  under  the 
guise  of  friendship  procured  a  book  of  Doctrine  and 
Covenants    from  a  Sister  Higbee,   to   read  and  make 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  35 

Sport  of.  There  were  a  number  listening  and  ridi- 
culing the  book.  I  was  some  distance  away,  lying 
alone  in  the  shade.  I  thought  I  might  enjoy  the  fun 
with  the  rest  and  crawled  up  nearer.  When  I 
got  within  hearing  distance  something  was  being 
read  about  .God  revealing  Himself,  telling  certain 
ones  what  to  do.  This  had  a  peculiar  effect  on 
my  mind.  My  oft-repeated  prayer  asking  for  this 
very  thing  came  to  my  mind. 

I  had  heard  but  very  little  of  their  reading,  for  just 
as  I  came  within  hearing  distance  some  one  took  the 
book  from  the  mobocrat  and  read  the  account  of  Joseph 
and  Hyrum's  martyrdom.  On  hearing  this  I  believe  I 
felt  just  as  the  Saints  did  when  they  first  heard  of  the 
murder  of  the  prophets  at  Carthage.  The  feeling  that 
came  upon  me  at  that  time  was  that  they  were  men  of 
God  and  were  murdered  by  wicked  men  just  as  it  was 
there  recorded.  At  once  the  desire  came  over  me  to 
get  away  from  those  who  were  exulting  over  their  death, 
and  deriding  the  revelations  that  I  thought  might  be  true. 
So  I  determined  to  stop  and  see  who  the  Mormons  were. 
I  asked  the  first  teamster  that  passed  to  take  me  to  the 
fort,  about  two  miles  distant,  as  I  wished  to  see  if  I  could 
find  some  one  to  take  care  of  me. 

After  being  helped  on  the  wagon,  the  owner,  Thomas 
Ross,  asked  me  a  few  questions  then  remarked,  "  You 
had  better  remain  in  Utah,  my  son,  and  you  will  soon  be 
a  Mormon." 

This  seemed  strange  to  me,  for  according  to  my 
idea  he  might  as  well  have  said,  "You  will  be  a  China- 
man."    I  asked  how  that  could  possibly  be? 

He  replied,  "  By  obedience  to  the  gospel  and  bap- 
tism." 

I  asked  if  the  Mormons  had  a  religion. 


36  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

He  said,  ''Yes,  the  same  that  Christ  taught  ;  we 
beHeve  in  the  New  Testament." 

I  repHed,  "That  is  what  I  believe  ;  but  I  beHeve  it 
as  it  reads." 

''Well,"  said  he,  "  that  is  what  we  think  ;  I  guess 
you'll  be  a  Mormon  yet." 

This  was  something  new  to  me  and  I  was  continually 
asking  myself:  How  can  I  be  a  Mormon?  On  arriving 
at  the  fort,  I  went  to  Bishop  Isaac  Higbee's  house  where 
I  was  kindly  received,  his  wife  agreeing  to  care  for  me 
on  reasonable  terms.  She  is  now  living  in  Salt  Lake 
City  and  has  ever  been  a  friend  to  me.  I  went  back  to 
camp  and  bade  good-bye  to  my  old  friends  and  associates, 
determined  that  I  would  stay  and  see  for  myself,  and  if 
Mormonism  was  what  they  said  it  was,  I  would  go  no 
further  for  all  the  gold  in  California.  Since  I  was  ten 
years  old  I  had  believed  there  was  something  before  me 
worth  living  for  and  that  God  would  eventually  answer 
my  prayers  and  let  me  know  how  to  serve  Him.  I  often 
wonder  why  I  am  not  more  faithful,  and  if  I  will  ever 
learn  to  do  as  I  should.  Much  of  my  life  seems  to  have 
been  governed  by  circumstances  over  which  I  have  had 
but  little  control.  That  is,  I  have  been  impelled  by 
influences  that  urged  me  on  to  certain  labors,  especially 
among  the  Indians,  which  I  have  felt  compelled  to 
answer. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  37 


CHAPTER   III. 

My  Scrutiny  of  the  Mormons — Employment  as  an  Indian  Trader — 
Acquaintance  with  ^'Winter  Mormons" — A  Proposition  of  Theft 
— Loomas  Threatens  my  Life — My  Resolve  to  Kill  him — He 
Finds  his  Death  at  Other  Hands. 

AFTER  settling  myself  with  the  Bishop's  family,  I 
soon  got  so  that  I  could  hobble  around  a  little. 
Everyone  was  kind  and  treated  me  with  great  confidence. 
I  listened  to  the  elders  preaching  and  soon  concluded 
they  were  honest  and  knew  it,  or  were  willful  liars  and 
deceivers.  I  was  determined,  if  possible,  not  to  be 
fooled,  therefore  I  commenced  to  watch  very  closely.  I 
soon  found  that  the  people  took  an  interest  in  the  Indians, 
and  although  they  had  been  at  war  and  the  Bishop's  son 
had  been  killed  by  them,  there  was  no  general  feeling  of 
bitterness.  The  Indians  were  around  the  fort  more  or 
less,  and  the  people  were  desirous  of  friendship. 

After  I  had  been  there  a  few  weeks  recruiting, 
Messrs.  Patrick  and  Glenn  came  to  Provo ;  they  were 
traders  on  their  way  south  to  barter  with  the  Indians  and 
whites.  They  knew  nothing  about  trading  with  the 
Indians,  something  I  had  learned  considerable  about  from 
Old  Thomas,  who  had  traded  with  them  during  our  trip. 
I  had  also  dealt  with  them  while  in  New  Mexico.  This 
firm  offered  me  employment  for  the  winter,  to  go  to  San- 
pete valley,  then  the  head  quarters  for  trading  with  the 
Ute  Indians.  This  suited  me,  for  I  wished  to  become 
better  acquainted  with  the  Indians  and  gain  their  friend- 
ship, also  to  learn  their  language.  Some  of  them  could 
speak  more  or  less  Spanish,  but  not  enough  to  converse 
satisfactorily.       While    in    Manti,    during    the    winter,   I 


2,S  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

boarded  with  Father  Isaac  Morley.  During  the  winter  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Dimick  B.  Huntington.  He 
told  me  about  the  iBook  of  Mormon,  its  relationship  to 
the  Indians,  etc.  It  seemed  natural  to  me  to  believe  it. 
I  cannot  remember  ever  questioning  in  my  mind  the 
truthfulness  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  or  that  Joseph 
Smith  was  a  prophet.  The  question  was:  Are  the 
Mormons  sincere,  and  can  I  be  one?  I  heard  a  great 
many  hard  remarks  about  the  Missourians,  and  being 
one  myself,  I  felt  to  resent  the  wholesale  accusations 
made  against  them. 

About  that  time  a  great  many  ''dead  beats"  and 
** winter  Mormons"  joined  the  Church,  emigrants  who 
stopped  over  simply  for  convenience.  Quite  a  number 
came  to  Manti,  led  by  one  Loomas.  They  all  joined  the 
Church.  They  tried  to  induce  me  to  be  baptized  when 
they  were.  I  gave  them  a  good  cursing  for  being  miser- 
able hypocrites,  at  which  they  only  laughed,  saying  they 
would  have  the  advantage  of  me  among  the  girls,  at  least. 
Sometime  near  spring  this  gang  arranged  to  make  a 
general  raid  upon  the  settlements,  and  steal  all  the  horses 
upon  the  range  from  Draperville  going  south  through 
Utah  valley.  In  those  days  numerous  herds  of  horses 
ran  loose,  as  the  range  was  good.  The  gang  of  outlaws 
had  confederates  in  Salt  Lake  City  where  some  of  them 
robbed  a  jeweler's  store.  They  sent  for  me  one  night 
and  laid  their  plans  before  me.  They  proposed  that  I 
would  be  their  guide  and  meet  them  at  the  head  of 
Spanish  Fork  Canyon,  conduct  them  through  to  New 
Mexico  and  have  one-fourth  of  all  the  horses.  I  declined 
the  offer,  telling  them  it  was  a  good  speculation,  assign- 
ing as  my  reason  for  not  going  that  I  had  not  sufficiently 
recovered  from  my  wounds  to  risk  the  trip.  This  they 
seemed  to  believe,  as  I  was  yet  somewhat  lame.     They 


FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  39 

made  me  promise  not  to  betray  them,  and  I  soon  satis- 
fied them  on  that  point. 

I  realized  my  awkward  situation,  but  was  determined 
to  warn  the  people,  thus  putting  them  on  their  guard. 
Accordingly  on  going  to  Provo,  I  informed  the  Bishop 
of  their  plans ;  he  warned  the  different  settlements  and 
without  any  fuss  the  people  were  put  on  their  guard. 
These  men  were  closely  watched  until  spring,  when  they 
all  left  for  Lower  California,  most  of  them  going  about 
the  time  of  the  move  to  San  Bernardino.  In  a  fit  of 
anger  a  friend  of  Loomas  told  me  I  would  get  killed 
some  day,  that  Loomas  was  on  my  track. 

It  is  true  I  had  in  a  measure  betrayed  him  and  his 
companions,  still  I  had  felt  it  my  duty  to  do  as  I  had 
done ;  and  to  prevent  myself  being  killed  I  resolved  to 
kill  him  on  sight.  So  intent  was  I  on  this,  that  I  came 
near  shooting  another  party,  that  I  mistook  for  Loomas. 
At  this  time  I  was  camped  at  Spanish  Fork.  As  I  was 
returning  from  a  hunt,  I  saw  a  person  sitting  with  his 
back  toward  me,  that  in  every  way  resembled  Loomas 
in  point  of  size  and  peculiarity  of  dress.  Loomas  was 
expected  to  visit  us.  I  approached  with  my  gun  ready, 
greatly  tempted  to  shoot  without  speaking,  as  he  was 
also  armed,  but  thinking  this  cowardly  I  spoke  in  order 
to  draw  his  attention  when,  on  his  turning  round,  another 
face  presented  itself 

As  it  turned  out,  no  one  knew  of  my  intentions  but 
myself.  It  makes  me  shudder  even  now  when  I  think  of 
my  intentions  and  feelings  at  that  time.  I  never  saw  any 
of  the  gang  afterwards,  but  read  an  account  of  Loomas 
and  others  being  lynched  for  robbery  in  California. 

My  feelings  at  this  time  were  very  conflicting.  I 
became  fully  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Mormonism,  and 
that  it  was  my  duty  to  obey,  but  I  tried  to  excuse  myself 


40  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

in  many  ways.  I  said  nothing  to  anyone,  but  kept  up  a 
''terrible  thinking."  Being  a  Missourian  it  seemed,  from 
the  remarks  made  even  in  public,  that  salvation  could 
never  reach  me.  I  remembered  that  my  father  always 
opposed  mobocracy,  so  much  so  that  he  was  called  by 
some  of  our  neighbors  a  Mormon.  I  was  too  proud  to 
mention  this  to  anyone;  I  knew  I  was  honest  and  was 
not  to  blame  for  being  born  in  Missouri. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

My  Baptism — Walker,  the  ''Napoleon  of  the  Desert" — Raids  in 
Lower  California — He  Tricks  the  Mexicans — Extinction  of  the 
Tribe. 

DURING  the  winter  I  made  several  trips  to  Salt  Lake 
City  in  company  with  Patrick,  one  of  the  firm  in 
whose  employ  I  was.  The  winter  was  very  cold,  we  were 
glad  to  get  under  shelter,  no  matter  how  poor  it  was. 
At  that  time  there  were  few  settlements  from  Salt  Lake 
City  to  Manti.  The  first  was  at  Willow  Creek,  Ebenezer 
Brown's  farm,  then  Provo.  The  first  house  in  American 
Fork  was  built  in  mid-winter,  1850-51,  by  Matt  Caldwell. 
A  bitter  cold  night  brought  four  of  us  to  this  humble 
abode,  made  of  unhewn  cottonwood  logs,  where  we  were 
kindly  greeted  and  housed  for  the  night.  Beyond  Provo 
A.  J.  Stewart  erected  the  first  cabin  at  Peteteneet  creek, 
which  place  is  now  known  as  Payson.  From  there  on 
there  were  no  settlements  until  Manti  was  reached. 

About  this  time,  mid-winter,  I  commenced  to  con- 
sider whether  it  would  not  be  best  for  me  to  go  on  to 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  4I 

California,  make  a  lot  of  money,  then  return  and  join 
the  Latter-day  Saints.  Arguing  that  they  would  have 
more  confidence  in  me  then  than  if  I  should  join  now. 
As  I  knew  that  "winter  Mormons"  were  looked  upon  with 
suspicion,  my  mind  was  much  occupied  in  trying  to  deter- 
mine what  was  best.  After  considering  well  the  preju- 
dices I  would  have  to  meet,  I  finally  spoke  to  Father 
Morley,  who  baptized  me  January  27th,  1851.  There 
was  over  a  foot  of  ice  on  the  water  at  the  time. 

When  I  spoke  to  Brother  Morley  about  baptizing 
me,  he  was  just  starting  out  after  a  load  of  wood  with 
his  ax  under  his  arm.  He  replied,  'T  am  ready;  here  is 
my  ax  to  cut  the  ice.  I  have  been  expecting  this  for 
some  time."  I  wondered  why  he  expected  it,  as  I  had 
said  nothing  about  my  intentions. 

After  baptism  I  felt  more  at  ease,  although  I  knew 
many  doubted  my  sincerity.  This  made  no  difference  as 
long  as  I  knew  I  was  sincere.  I  made  quite  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Indians  during  the  winter.  Walker  and 
portions  of  his  band  came  around  occasionally  to  trade. 
They  were  a  fine  race  of  people.  Walker's  life  and 
exploits  with  his  band  would  fill  a  volume ;  he  was  some- 
times called  the  "Napoleon  of  the  desert,"  being  a  great 
strategist,  often  out-generaling  those  he  had^to  meet  in 
war  or  whom  he  designed  to  plunder.  He  often  made 
raids  into  lower  California,  robbing  the  people  and  bring- 
ing away  large  herds  of  their  best  horses,  always  laying 
his  plans  with  great  skill  so  as  to  not  lose  his  men. 

One  of  these  trips  made  by  him  in  1852,  I  think, 
shows  his  ability.  With  about  twenty-five  of  his  most 
venturesome  braves  he  went  down.  As  usual,  the 
Mexicans  were  expecting  them  and  their  best  horses 
were  corralled  nightly,  their  picked  saddle  horses,  valued 
so  highly  by  every   Mexican  gentleman,    were  kept  in 


42  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Stables  under  guard.  Walker  and  party  succeeded  in 
cutting  an  opening  in  the  rear  of  the  corral,  turning  out 
the  stock  and  getting  away  with  them.  This  time  the 
Mexicans  were  determined  to  follow  them  into  the 
desert,  make  a  good  killing  and  recover  their  stock. 
They  had  not  expected  such  a  bold  move  as  cutting  into 
the  corral,  but  as  soon  as  it  was  discovered  the  Mexicans 
started  in  hot  pursuit.  Walker  pushed  on  with  all  speed, 
passing  a  spring  where  he  calculated  the  Mexicans  would 
make  a  short  halt.  Here  he  left  fifteen  of  his  men  afoot 
secreted  near  the  spring.  Soon  the  Mexicans  arrived, 
having  ridden  hard  for  some  distance.  As  Walker 
expected,  they  were  soon  unsaddled,  their  horses  tied 
out  to  grass  and  all  hands  asleep,  expecting  to  take  an 
hour's  rest  and  then  go  on.  The  Indians  waited  till  all 
were  settled,  then  quietly  loosened  the  horses,  each  one 
mounted,  some  taking  the  lead  while  others  drove  the 
loose  animals.  After  reaching  a  safe  distance  from  gun- 
shot they  gave  a  loud  whoop  and  started  to  run.  I  have 
seen  them  in  mimicry  go  through  the  whole  performance, 
showing  how  the  Mexicans  looked  when  they  realized 
the  situation. 

The  Indians  always  claimed  that  there  was  nothing 
hostile  in  this,  as  they  killed  no  one.  At  the  present 
time  I  do  not  know  of  one  representative  of  this  once 
powerful  band.  Walker  could  meet  and  out-general  his 
Indian  foes  and  outwit  the  Mexicans;  in  fact,  hold  his 
own  with  almost  anyone  whom  he  met ;  but  neither  he 
nor  his  band  could  stand  fine  fiour  and  good  living.  This 
finally,  more  than  anything  else,  conquered  them.  I 
sometimes  wonder  if  the  Latter-day  Saints  have  done 
their  duty  toward  thess  Indians,  professing,  as  we  do,  that 
they  are  of  the  seed  of  Israel. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  43 


CHAPTER  V. 

Patrick  and  Glenn  fail — Patrick  a  Rascal — He  Robs  Enoch  Reece. 

T  REMAINED  in  MantI  until  April,  1851,  when  I,  still 
1  in  the  employ  of  Patrick  and  Glenn,  came  down  to 
Spanish  Fork  and  helped  to  open  the  first  farm  on  that 
stream  ;  it  was  known  as  the  Reece  farm.  Here  we  had 
many  Utes  about  us.  I  often  traded  with  them  and 
they  were  always  friendly  remarking  that  I  had  a  differ- 
ent expression  in  my  eyes,  a  more  kindly  look  than  the 
people  in  general  had  for  them.  The  fact  is,  I  felt  from 
the  depths  of  my  heart  sincere  friendship  for  them,  and 
no  doubt  manifested  it  in  my  looks.  My  employers  had 
failed  in  business,  having  no  capital  to  commence  with, 
and  turned  over  their  property  to  the  Reece  Brothers  of 
Salt  Lake  City. 

Patrick  proved  to  be  a  rascal.  When  I  called  on 
him  for  a  settlement  he  denied  the  most  he  was  owing 
me.  He  was  then  in  Provo,  in  charge  of  several  thou- 
sand dollars  worth  of  stock  belonging  to  Enoch  Reece, 
who  was  sending  him  out  to  meet  his  train  of  merchan- 
dise coming  in.  He  was  to  meet  it  at  Green  river.  I 
was  determined  to  make  him  pay  me  before  he  went  on. 
Finally,  he  offered  to  settle  by  arbitration,  naming  a 
person. 

I  felt  safe  with  this  proposal  and  asked  him  if  he 
would  abide  the  decision  if  I  would.  He  answered  yes. 
I  felt  sure  of  the  money,  for  I  had  great  confidence  in  the 
person  chosen.  He  seemed  a  just  and  good  man  and 
in  my  simplicity  I  supposed  he  would  be  able  to  judge 
correctly  in  the  case.  I  was  careful  not  to  make  any 
demand    excepting   what   I  knew   to  be  perfectly  just. 


44  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Mr.  Patrick  denied  in  toto  my  account,  and  the  arbitra- 
tor decided  that  I  was  attempting  to  wrong  Mr.  Patrick. 
This  was  a  "stumper"  for  me,  but  I  said  I  would  stand 
it,  and  inasmuch  as  I  had  to  pay  for  the  privilege,  I 
intended  to  tell  all  hands  what  I  thought  of  them.  I 
then  told  the  arbitrator  that  he  had  believed  a  lie  and 
condemned  the  truth,  that  some  day  he  would  know  it, 
and  that  Mr.  Patrick  would  get  away  with  Brother 
Reece's  property,  for  he  had  proven  himself  a  thief 
Enoch  Reece  was  present  and  resented  what  I  said, 
telling  me  to  stop  talking,  but  I  made  my  little  speech 
all  the  same. 

About  six  weeks  afterwards  I  met  Brother  Reece  in 
Provo  and  the  first  words  he  said  to  me  were:  ''Well, 
Brother  Jones,  what  do  you  think  has  occurred?"  I  re- 
plied, "  Patrick  has  got  away  with  your  stock."  *'  Yes," 
said  he,  "he  has  sold  the  whole  of  it  and  'sloped'  for 
Ogden."  I  told  him  I  was  glad  of  it,  for  he  might  have 
listened  to  me.  I  also  learned  afterwards  what  had 
blinded  the  arbitrator.  He  was  owing  Mr.  Patrick  some 
five  hundred  dollars,  and  the  latter  had  told  him  he  could 
wait  six  months  for  all  except  what  was  owing  Jones  ; 
so  all  that  was  decided  in  my  favor  he  had  to  look  up. 
Consequently  it  was  easy  to  understand  why  Patrick  did 
not  owe  me  much ! ! !  I  had  not  belonged  to  the  Church 
long,  but  if  any  one  had.  hinted  to  me  that  my  faith  was 
shaken  in  Mormonism  by  this  unjust  decision,  I  should 
have  resented  it  as  an  insult.  To  me  it  was  simply  a 
human  weakness  which  Mormonism  had  nothing  to  do 
with. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  45 


CHAPTER   VI. 

My  visit  to  Salt  Lake  City — Introduction  to  Brigham  Young — Ordained 
a  Seventy — Judge  Brochus'  Speech. 

MY  HEALTH  became  entirely  restored.  After  com- 
ing to  Provo  I  worked  wherever  there  was  a 
demand  for  help,  and  after  harvest  was  over  I  concluded 
to  go  to  Salt  Lake  City  to  have  a  rest  and  play  the  gen- 
tleman for  awhile.  This  did  not  last  long.  I  arrived 
one  Saturday,  spent  Sunday  in  the  city  and  on  Monday 
morning  started  for  a  stroll  through  town,  met  an  ac- 
quaintance, Lyman  Woods  from  Provo,  and  stood  talking 
to  him  in  the  street,  when  we  were  approached  by  a  man 
who  enquired  of  my  friend,  if  he  knew  of  anyone  he 
could  get  to  help  harvest  twenty  acres  of  late  wheat. 
He  seemed  anxious,  saying  he  could  find  no  one,  and 
that  his  wheat  was  going  to  waste.  I  told  him  I  would 
help  him.  He  looked  at  me  a  moment,  then  said  he 
wanted  a  man  who  could  follow  him,  and  rake  and  bind 
what  he  cut.  I  replied  that  I  could  do  it.  Still  looking 
at  me  he  commenced  laughing  and  said,  "Well,  you  will 
have  to  change  your  clothing  anyway."  My  friend  then 
introduced  me  to  Mr.  Edmund  Ellsworth,  President 
Young's  son-in-law,  and  told  him  I  was  a  good  worker. 
Brother  Ellsworth  told  me  to  get  ready  and  come  on.  I 
soon  changed  to  buckskin  pants  and  hickory  shirt  and 
returned.  He  remarked,  "You  will  do  now."  I  had 
never  till  this  time  thought  dress  made  any  difference  in 
a  man's  looks  in  regard  to  work.  We  finished  up  the 
wheat  and  returned  to  town.  On  Saturday  after  supper, 
Brother  Ellsworth  said,  "We  will  now  go  and  see  Brother 
Brigham,  who  lives  opposite,    in    the  white  house."     I 


46  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

asked  him  to  wait  until  I  changed  my  clothes.  This  he 
would  not  allow,  but  insisted  I  should  go  as  I  was,  add- 
ing that  Brother  Brigham  did  not  judge  a  man  by  his 
dress.  I  went  and  can  say  I  was  completely  won  by 
President  Young's  manner.  He  asked  me  a  great  many 
questions,  and  I  was  satisfied  that  he  did  not  doubt  my 
sincerity.  He  gave  me  a  note  to  Brother  Joseph  Young, 
directing  him  to  ordain  me  a  Seventy,  saying  that  he 
wanted  me  to  preach  the  gospel  wherever  I  had  an 
opportunity,  especially  to  the  people  speaking  the  Span- 
ish language.  I  went  and  was  ordained  September  8th, 
1 85 1,  by  Joseph  Young. 

I  remained  in  the  city  some  time  boarding  with 
Brother  Ellsworth.  I  was  present  at  the  meeting  where 
Judge  Brochus  delivered  his  famous  speech,  in  which  he 
applied  to  the  women  of  Utah  for  a  block  for  the  Wash- 
ington monument,  telling  them  that  before  they  contrib- 
uted to  so  glorious  a  work  they  must  become  virtuous, 
and  teach  their  daughters  to  become  so.  I  sat  and  list- 
ened, looking  at  Brother  Brigham  who  sat  perfectly  still 
with  his  mouth  twisted  a  little  to  one  side.  Beginning  to 
lose  my  respect  for  him  and  Mormons  generally,  I  spoke 
to  a  man  sitting  next  to  me,  Brother  Everett,  telling  him 
I  would  not  allow  such  talk,  if  I  had  a  wife  or  mother 
there ;  that  I  would  kick  Brochus  out  of  the  stand. 
Brother  Everett,  being  more  patient,  told  me  to  wait. 
When  Brother  Brigham  arose  and  answered  Brochus,  I 
understood  why  nothing  had  been  said  to  interfere  with 
his  speech.  Brochus  was  given  full  liberty  to  "empty 
himself"  Then  he  got  his  dose,  which  so  frightened  him 
that  he  and  his  companions  left  for  the  States  in  a  few 
days.  No  one  threatened  him  or  his  associates,  but  he 
was  simply  told  what  he  was  and  who  the  people  were 
that  listened  to  his  abuse.     This  did  him  up  entirely. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  47 


CHAPTER    VII. 

The  City  Santa  Fe — Traditions   Concerning  it — The  Early  Settlers — 
My  Desires  to  Travel — The  Slave  Trade. 

1  RETURNED  to  Provo  after  the  October  conference. 
Soon  after  my  return  a  large  party  of  Mexican  traders 
from  New  Mexico  arrived  in  Utah  and  camped  near  by. 
They  came  in  on  their  usual  trading  business,  the  main 
object  being  to  buy  Indian  children  for  slaves. 

That  the  reader  may  more  fully  understand  the  sit- 
uation, I  will  give  a  little  of  the  history  and  customs  of 
New  Mexico.  Santa  Fe  is  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  the 
United  States.  The  correct  history  is  not  perfectly 
known,  but  the  one  told  by  the  natives,  and  generally 
accepted,  is  that  soon  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico  by 
Cortez,  an  expedition  went  out  to  explore  the  northern 
country.  Nothing  was  heard  from  them,  and  all  trace 
was  lost,  until  a  number  of  years  afterwards,  when 
another  party  went  north.  On  arriving  at  Santa  Fe  they 
found  a  people  among  whom  many  of  the  younger  ones 
spoke  the  Spanish  language.  They  found,  after  much 
trouble  and  enquiry,  that  these  were  children  of  the 
former  explorers,  who,  on  arriving  in  that  country,  had 
found  rich  mines  of  gold  and  silver.  They  concluded  to 
keep  silent  and  work  these  mines  for  themselves.  They 
also  found  the  natives  peaceable  and  in  every  way  well 
disposed  toward  them.  These  natives  lived  in  towns 
and  cultivated  the  soil.  The  Spaniards  took  wives  from 
among  the  natives  ;  and  all  went  well,  until  the  Spaniards 
had  accumulated  many  millions  of  dollars,  when  they 
began  to  tire  of  their  friends  and  families,  and  longed 
for  the   more   congenial  society  of  the   people  they  had 


48  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

left,  believing  that  with  their  great  wealth  they  would  be 
received  with  honor,  consequently  they  determined  to 
abandon  all  their  new  made  friends  and  return  to  Old 
Mexico.  The  natives  remonstrated,  for  they  now  looked 
upon  them  as  a  part  of  their  tribe,  inasmuch  as  they  had 
given  them  wives  and  homes,  and  had  assisted  and  pro- 
tected them  in  every  way.  The  Spaniards  had  made 
them  believe  that  they  were  directed  by  the  Great  Spirit 
to  come  among  them  and  be  united  with  them.  So  when 
they  proposed  leaving,  the  natives  looked  upon  them  as 
deceivers  and  forbade  their  departure.  The  Spaniards 
heeded  not  their  warnings  and  felt  no  apprehensions, 
for  the  natives  were  not  a  warlike  people.  So,  with  their 
treasure,  they  started  south,  but  were  attacked  and  all 
killed.  Tradition  says  that  their  treasure  is  buried  in  a 
plain  near  a  salt  lake,  south  of  Santa  Fe.  That  there  is 
more  or  less  truth  in  all  this,  can  not  be  doubted,  for 
history  tells  us  that  the  second  party  found  descendants 
of  these  former  explorers  in  Santa  Fe  where  they  had 
built  quite  a  village  and  worked  mines.  In  fact,  much 
evidence  was  found  to  corroborate  the  statement  of  the 
natives,  although  no  records  were  found,  and  not  one  of 
the  original  Spaniards  was  living.  The  second  party 
remained  and  reported  themselves  to  the  government  of 
Mexico.  Others  came  and  strengthened  the  colony; 
the  mines  were  worked,  yielding  immense  wealth  ;  the 
Catholic  Church  was  established  among  the  natives,  the 
Spaniards  taking  Indian  women  for  wives ;  the  natives 
became  converted  and  adopted  Spanish  civilization,  mixed 
with  their  own  traditions;  a  new  class  of  people,  com- 
monly called  Spanish  Mexicans,  was  the  result.  A  few 
of  the  natives  retained  their  ancient  customs,  remaining 
apart  and  never  mixing  with  others.  Many  of  these  can 
still  be  found  living  in  towns  and   villages  along  the  Rio 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  49 

Grande.     They  are  known  as  Pueblos,  and  are  much 
more  honest  and  moral  than  the  mixed  race. 

New  Mexico  was  almost  an  unknown  country  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States  until  the  last  half  cen- 
tury. Many  of  the  pioneer  traders  to  that  land  were 
from  Howard  County,  Missouri^  where  I  was  born,  and 
I  remember  when  a  child  hearing  numbers  of  them  on 
their  return  recount  their  exploits  and  strange  expe- 
riences. I  felt  as  if  I  could  not  wait  to  be  a  man  before 
going  to  see  these  strange  countries  and  peoples.  Well 
do  I  remember  when  studying  geography  at  school  and 
seeing  "unexplored  region"  marked  on  the  map,  feeling 
a  contempt  for  the  author  and  thinking  if  I  were  a  man  I 
would  go  and  see  what  there  was  in  that  land  and  not 
mark  it  unexplored. 

These  New  Mexicans  were  a  venturesome  people. 
They  penetrated  through  to  California  ;  trails  were  opened 
that  were  a  marvel  of  pioneering.  They  were  doubtless 
assisted  by  the  natives.  The  Jesuits  were- leaders  in  most 
of  these  moves.  There  is  hardly  a  tribe  of  Indians  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains  .  but  what  has  a  tradition  of  the 
priests  having  been  among  them.  Sometimes  these 
priests  gained  quite  an  influence  with  the  wild  tribes.  At 
one  time  the  Uintahs  were  their  friends,  but  a  break 
occurred  and  the  priests  were  killed.  Thus  we  find  that; 
the  people  of  New  Mexico  at  the  time  I  am  writing  of 
them,  in  1851,  were  making  annual  trips,  commencing 
with  a  few  goods,  trading  on  their  way  with  either  Nav- 
ajoes  or  Utes  (generally  with  the  Navajoes)  for  horses, 
which  they  sold  very  cheap,  always  retaining  their  best 
ones.  These  used-up  horses  were  brought  through  and 
traded  to  the  poorer  Indians  for  children.  The  horses  were 
often  used  for  food.  This  trading  was  continued  into 
Lower   California,    where    the    children    bought   on    the 


50  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

down  trip  would  be  traded  to  the  Mexican-Californians 
for  other  horses,  goods  or  cash.  Many  times  a  small 
outfit  on  the  start  would  return  with  large  herds  of 
California  stock. 

All  children  bought  on  the  return  trip  would  be 
taken  back  to  New  Mexico  and  then  sold,  boys  fetching 
on  an  average  $ioo,  girls  from  $150  to  $200.  The  girls 
were  in  demand  to  bring  up  for  house  servants,  having 
the  reputation  of  making  better  servants  than  any 
others.  This  slave  trade  gave  rise  to  the  cruel  wars 
between  the  native  tribes  of  this  country,  from  Salt  Lake 
down  to  the  tribes  in  southern  Utah.  Walker  and  his 
band  raided  on  the  weak  tribes,  taking  their  children 
prisoners  and  selling  them  to  the  Mexicans.  Many  of 
the  lower  classes,  inhabiting  the  southern  deserts,  would 
sell  their  own  children  for  a  horse  and  kill  and  eat  the 
horse.  The  Mexicans  were  as  fully  established  and 
systematic  in  this  trade  as  ever  were  the  slavers  on  the 
seas  and  to  them  it  was  a  very  lucrative  business. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  5 1 


CHAPTER.    VIII. 

Governor  Brigham  Young  Checks  the  Slave  Trade — The  Prosecution 
of  Offenders — A  Noted  Trial — A  Cruel  Argument  to  Induce 
Mormons  to  Buy  Indian  Children. 

AT  THIS  time  Brigham  Young  was  governor  of  Utah 
and  had  the  oversight  of  Indian  affairs.  Some  Httle 
business  in  the  slave  trade  had  been  done  on  the  trip  the 
summer  before  by  our  old  guide,  who  was  a  regular 
trader.  Governor  Young  asked  me  something  about 
this  business,  telling  me  to  look  out,  and  if  any  of  these 
traders  came  in,  to  let  him  know,-  as  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  which  then  extended  over  this  Territory, 
prohibited  this  business,  and  that  it  would  be  his  duty  to 
put  a  stop  to  the  same.  He  hoped  to  do  this  by  advis- 
ing these  traders  in  regard  to  the  present  conditions. 
When  this  party  of  traders  spoken  of  arrived,  Governor 
Young  was  notified  and  came  to  Provo.  The  leaders  of 
this  company  came  to  see  the  governor,  I  acting  as 
interpreter.  Mr.  Young  had  the  law  read  and  explained 
to  them,  showing  them  that  from  this  on  they  were  under 
obligations  to  observe  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
instead  of  Mexico ;  that  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  de 
Hidalgo,  had  changed  the  conditions,  and  that  from  this 
on  they  were  under  the  control  of  the  United  States.  He 
further  showed  that  it  was  a  cruel  practice  to  enslave 
human  beings,  and  explained  that  the  results  of  such  a 
business  caused  war  and  bloodshed  among  the  Indian 
tribes. 

The  Mexicans  listened  with  respect,  admitting  that 
the  traffic  would  have  to  cease.  It  was  plainly  shown  to 
them  that   it  was  a  cruel   business   which   could  not  be 


52  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

tolerated  any  longer ;  but  as  it  had  been  an  old  established 
practice,  they  were  not  so  much  to  blame  for  following 
the  traffic  heretofore.  Now  it  was  expected  that  this 
business  would  be  discontinued. 

All  seemed  satisfied  and  pledged  their  words  that 
they  would  return  to  their  homes  without  trading  for  chil- 
dren. Most  of  them  kept  their  promise,  but  one  small 
party,  under  Pedro  Lion,  violated  their  obligations  and 
were  arrested  and  brought  before  the  United  States 
court,  Judge  Snow  presiding. 

This  was  quite  a  noted  case.  I  was  employed  as 
interpreter.  George  A.  Smith  defended  the  prisoners, 
and  Colonel  Blair  prosecuted  with  great  wisdom  and  tact, 
he  knowing  all  about  the  Mexican  character,  having 
been  in  the  Texan  war.  A  great  deal  of  prejudice  and 
bitter  feeling  was  manifested  toward  the  Mexicans. 
Governor  Young  seeing  this,  used  all  his  influence  that 
they  might  have  a  fair  and  impartial  trial,  and  the  law  be 
vindicated  in  a  spirit  of  justice  and  not  in  the  spirit  of 
persecution.  The  defence  made  by  the  Mexicans  was 
that  the  Indians  had  stolen  a  lot  of  horses  from  them  and 
that  they  had  followed  and  overtaken  them.  On  coming 
to  their  camp  they  found  the  Indians  had  killed  and  eaten 
the  horses.  The  only  remuneration  they  could  get  was 
to  take  some  children  which  the  Indians  offered  in  pay- 
ment, saying  they  did  not  mean  to  break  their  promise. 
This  defence  had  some  weight,  whether  true  or  not. 
Still  they  were  found  guilty  and  fined.  The  trial  lasted 
several  days ;  the  fines  were  afterwards  remitted,  and 
the  Mexicans  allowed  to  return  home.  They  had  been 
delayed  some  time,  and  made  nothing  on  their  trip.  No 
doubt  they  felt  sour,  but  considering  the  law,  they  were 
dealt  leniently  with.  This  broke  up  the  Indian  slave 
trade. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  53 

Stopping  this  slave  business  helped  to  sour  some  of 
Walker's  band.  They  were  in  the  habit  of  raiding  on 
the  Pahutes  and  low  tribes,  taking  their  children  pris- 
oners and  selling  them.  Next  year  when  they  came  up 
and  camped  on  the  Provo  bench,  they  had  some  Indian 
children  for  sale.  They  offered  them  to  the  Mormons 
who    declined    buying.  Arapine,    Walker's    brother, 

became  enraged  saying  that  the  Mormons  had  stopped 
the  Mexicans  from  buying  these  children ;  that  they  had 
no  right  to  do  so,  unless  they  bought  them  themselves. 
Several  of  us  were  present  when  he  took  one  of  these 
children  by  the  heels  and  dashed  its  brains  out  on  the 
hard  ground,  after  which  he  threw  the  body  towards  us, 
telling  us  we  had  no  hearts,  or  we  would  have  bought 
it  and  saved  its  Hfe.  This  was  a  strange  argument,  but 
it  was  the  argument  of  an  enraged  savage.  I  never 
heard  of  any  successful  attempts  to  buy  children  after- 
wards by  the  Mexicans.     If   done  at  all  it  was  secretly. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

My  Marriage — Peaceful  Life  Among  the  Savages— Dr.  Bowman  Seeks 
Trouble— He  is  Killed^by  the  Indians— The  ''Walker  War"— 
Its  Cause — A  Thrilling  Situation. 

ON  THE  29th  of  January,  1852,  Miss  Harriet  Emily 
Colton  was  united  to  me  in  marriage.  All  I  will 
say  at  present  is,  that  her  life  and  labors  are  as  much  a 
part  of  mine  as  is  possible  for  a  wife's  to  be.  She  was 
my  heart's  choice  from  first  sight,  and  so  continued  till 
the  day  of  her  death.     We  lived  on  a  farm  quite  a  dis- 


54  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

tance  from  the  settlement  for  some  time  after  our  mar- 
riage. My  wife's  father,  Philander  Colton,  went  to  Cali- 
fornia the  spring  we  were  married,  leaving  me  in  charge 
of  his  farm  and  affairs.  The  farm  was  near  the  Indian 
camping  ground  ;  hundreds  of  them  were  often  around 
us.  Sometimes  they  were  more  or  less  saucy,  but  we 
treated  them  kindly.  My  wife  seemed  to  have  the  same 
spirit  as  myself  in  regard  to  the  Indians,  feeling  friendly 
towards  them  and  wishing  to  see  them  taught  and  helped 
out  of  their  degraded  condition. 

Nothing  occurred  in  my  experience  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year  worth  recording.  All  of  the  Indians 
around  were  friendly  toward  us,  but  frequently  spoke  of 
being  dissatisfied  with  the  treatment  received  from  some 
others.  Many  will  say,  and  with  some  truthfulness,  that 
Indians  visit  their  revenge  upon  whites  indiscriminately. 
Yet  if  one  treats  them  so  as  to  get  their  real  friendship, 
they  are  not  apt  to  harm  him. 

I  went  as  interpreter  for  President  Young  in  the 
spring  of  1853,  to  Sanpete  county,  where  ^ome  disturb- 
ance was  threatened  by  Mexicans  under  the  leadership 
of  a  certain  Dr.  Bowman  from  New  Mexico  who  seemed 
inclined  to  make  himself  a  name  by  committing  some 
violent  act  in  defiance  of  law.  There  seemed  to  be  a 
determination  on  his  part  and  those  with  him  to  revive 
the  slave  trade.  He  threatened  anyone  that  might  inter- 
fere with  him,  saying  he  could  bring  all  the  Indians  in 
the  mountains  to  help  him.  I  was  acquainted  with  this 
man  while  in  New  Mexico.  I  met  him  while  on  a  trip 
to  Sanpete  valley  a  few  days  before  I  went  with  President 
Young's  party.  The  moment  Bowman  saw  me  he  began 
to  curse  me  for  being  a  Mormon,  saying  he  had  power 
at  his  back  to  use  all  the  Mormons  up.  I  felt  some 
little  friendship  for  him   as   is  natural   for  me  to  feel  for 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  55 

anyone  I  have  formerly  known,  and  advised  him  to  act 
more  careful,  or  he  would  get  into  trouble.  I  tried  to 
reason  with  him,  but  to  no  purpose,  he  went  on  down  to 
Utah  valley,  and  there  acted  in  an  insulting  and  threaten- 
ing manner.  Bowman's  Mexicans  were  encamped  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Sanpete  valley.  It  was  deemed 
prudent  to  bring  them  in  and  keep  an  eye  on  them,  until 
it  could  be  decided  what  their  intentions  were,  for  at  this 
time  it  was  seen  that  a  growing  spirit  of  war  was  upon 
the  Indians,  and  almost  anything  would  stir  them  up. 

Several  little  fusses  of  a  private  nature  had  lately 
occurred. 

At  this  time  many  of  the  settlers,  contrary  to  the 
counsel  of  President  Young,  had  settled  on  farms  and 
were  much  exposed.  This  had  a  tendency  to  make  the 
Indians  aggressive.  Many  times  the  settlers  were  sorely 
annoyed  by  the  Indians'  horses  getting  into  the  fields. 
When  remonstrated  with  they  would  ask,  ''Whose  lands 
are  these  you  are  on."  The  continual  advice  of  Presi- 
dent Young  was  to  build  in  towns,  fence  their  lands  and 
be  kind  to  the  Indians ;  that  it  was  cheaper  to  feed  than 
to  fight  them,  etc.  Some  heeded  this  counsel,  while 
many  did  not. 

I  was  one  of  a  party  of  four  or  five  who  went  out 
and  brought  in  the  Mexicans.  They  were  a  little  sus- 
picious, asking  a  great  many  questions  about  Bowman, 
where  he  was,  etc.  But  I  finally  persuaded  them  to  go 
with  us.  We  had  no  authority  to  arrest  them,  neither 
was  it  the  intention  to  do  so,  if  it  could  be  avoided.  In 
the  meantime  Bowman  got  into  some  trouble  with  the 
Indians  by  deceiving  them  in  some  of  their  promised 
trades,  and  he  was  ambushed  and  killed  by  some  of  them. 
Owing  to  his  manner  and  threats,  it  was  rumored  the 
Mormons  had  killed  him.     I  was  actively  engaged  as 


56  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

interpreter  and  was  continually  around  during  this  time. 
I  never  had  the  least  suspicion  or  proof  that  Bowman 
was  killed  by  any  Mormon  agency,  and  I  believe  I  would 
have  heard  something  of  it,  if  such  had  been  the  case. 
I  know  in  those  days  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a 
man  to  be  killed  whether  a  Mormon  or  not  by  the 
Indians,  either  for  revenge  or  plunder.  The  Mexicans 
soon  left  in  peace. 

In  the  summer  of  1853,  about  harvest  time,  the  war 
broke  out.  The  immediate  cause  of  the  Indian  war  was 
the  striking  of  an  Indian  with  a  gun  by  a  white  man  at 
Springville.  This  Indian  was  whipping  his  squaw,  when 
the  party  interfered  to  stop  him.  The  Indian  drew  his 
gun  to  shoot,  it  was  wrenched  from  him.  The  man 
using  the  gun  as  a  club,  broke  both  stock  and  Indian's 
head.  I  believe  the  Indian  died  from  the  effects  of  the 
blow  ;  he  was  one  of  Walker's  band,  and  the  latter  at 
once  painted  for  war. 

The  same  day  A.  J.  Stewart  and  I  were  returning 
from  Payson.  When  about  a  mile  from  there  some 
twenty-five  warriprs  .painted  black,  came  from  a  ravine, 
approaching  us  in  flank  with  guns  and  bows  ready. 
Mr.  Stewart  remarked,  "We  are  in  for  it;  that  means 
war."  We  had  no  time  to  turn  and  run  as  they  were 
within  one  hundred  yards  of  us.  I  knew  I  had  never 
wronged  them,  but  had  always  been  a  friend,  and  I 
believed  if  we  went  straight  along  they  would  not  hurt 
us.  Brother  Stewart  agreed  with  me.  We  never  halted 
or  gave  the  road,  but  drove  along  as  though  nothing  was 
in  the  way. 

As  we  went  they  parted  and  allowed  us  the  road, 
never  speaking  or  making  any  sign  of  recognition.  This 
same  party  went  on  up  to  the  Payson  mill  and  in  less 
than  an  hour  commenced  killing  our  people. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  57 

This  was  the  commencement  of  what  Is  known  as 
the  Walker  War.  It  caused  a  general  moving  in  of  those 
who  had  settled  out  on  farrfis,  making  towns  and  villages 
spring  up  like  magic.  I  remember  President  Young  re- 
marking in  public  that  the  people  seemed  readier  to  obey 
Brother  Walker's  invitation  to  live  together  in  towns, 
than  they  did  his  counsel.  Brother  Brigham  always  gave 
Walker  great  credit  for  helping  to  build  up  Utah.  There 
was  plenty  to  do  as  soon  as  the  war  commenced.  An 
attempt  was  made  to  follow  and  chastise  the  Indians, 
but  nothing  that  resulted  in  much  good  was  ever  done 
by  fighting  them.  The  counsel  was  for  all  to  move  in, 
gather  the  stock  together,  and  in  every  way  possible 
g^ard  against  attacks  or  surprises.  There  was  a  general 
move  in  this  direction  ;  cattle  were  gathered  and  herded 
under  strong  guards.  Guards  were  also  placed  at  the 
different  trails  leading  into  the  valley.  This  had  a  much 
better  effect  than  following  the  Indians,  getting  shot  at 
and  having  to  retreat  in  good  order. 

There  was  quite  a  band  of  Provo  Indians  who  took 
no  part  in  the  fight ;  they  were  camped  on  the  bench 
near  the  river  bottom.  I  had  not  yet  moved  into  town  ; 
the  Indians  were  around  me  daily  and  I  believed  them  to 
be  friendly.  An  order  was  issued  by  some  one  in  Provo 
to  have  them  taken  prisoners  and  brought  in.  Accordingly 
a  company  of  militia  was  called  out  for  the  purpose. 
Happening  along  just  as  they  were  starting  on  the  ex- 
pedition, I  was  asked  to  go  and  help  take  the  Indians, 
but  declined,  and  protested  against  the  move,  well  know- 
ing that  they  would  not  be  taken,  as  they  had  done  noth- 
ing to  justify  any  harsh  measures  against  them.  My 
remonstrance  was  in  vain,  the  Indians  had  to  be  taken, 
and  I  was  ordered  to  go  as  interpreter.  So  we  marched 
over  in  good  militia  style,  every   man  keeping  step  with 


58  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

himself.  I  felt  much  amused  at  our  turnout  going  to 
war.  The  flower  of  our  army  was  then  out  after  Walker. 
As  we  neared  the  camp  of  Indians  I  asked  permission  to 
go  ahead  and  tell  them  what  was  wanted.  I  was  on 
horseback  and  unarmed ;  the  Indians  were  up  at  once 
and  ready  for  fight.  They  said  that  taking  them  prison- 
ers meant  to  kill  them,  and  they  would  not  go.  The 
company  numbering  some  twenty-five  men — about  the 
same  number  as  the  Indians — had  now  come  up  and 
stood  about  fifty  yards  off,  facing  the  camp.  I  went  and 
told  the  captain  what  the  Indians  said.  He  replied, 
*' Then  we  have  got  to  take  them  by  force."  At  the 
same  time  ordering  his  company  to  load  their  guns.  I 
now  became  frightened,  for  I  knew  if  they  commenced 
loading,  the  Indians  having  their  guns  ready,  would  fire 
the  minute  they  saw  the  whites  making  such  a  movement; 
but  as  long  as  they  did  not  know  that  the  guns  were  not 
loaded  we  were  safe.  I  asked  the  captain  to  hold  a 
minute  and  let  me  ask  a  few  questions.      He  agreed. 

**  How  many  of  you  have  loads  in  your  guns?"  I 
asked. 

No  one  had.  Several  spoke  and  said  they  had  noth- 
ing to  load  with,  while  some  of  the  guns  were  out  of 
repair.  I  never  before  or  since  saw  anything  so  ridicu- 
lous. Some  of  the  members  of  the  company  are  still 
living  in  Provo,  and  will  remember  the  incident.  I  asked 
the  captain  what  he  thought  best  to  do  ;  he  said  he  would 
take  my  advice  under  the  circumstances.  I  told  him  I 
would  say  to  the  Indians  that  it  was  all  right;  that  they 
were  friends ;  and  we  did  not  think  it  right  to  take  them 
but  would  go  back. 

This  made  them  suspicious.  They  moved  off  up 
Provo  canyon  and  committed  various  petty  thefts  from 
time  to  time,  annoying  the   people  for  several   months. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  '        59 


CHAPTER   X. 

My  Interview  With  Brother  George  A.  Smith — My  Ill-natured  Remark 
— He  Wins  me  by  Kindness — His  Noble  Character — Peace  With 
the  Indians. 

WHEN  the  troubles  began  Brother  George  A.  Smith, 
who  was  presiding  in  Utah  county  was  in  Salt  Lake 
City.  There  was  much  confusion  in  the  county.  All  the 
cattle  belonging  to  Provo,  twelve  hundred  head,  were 
got  together  on  the  lake  bottom.  Barney  Ward  and  I 
were  placed  as  guard  over  them,  with  orders  not  to  let 
them  get  away.  We  stayed  with  them  until  we  were 
about  worn  out.  No  one  would  come  to  our  relief  till 
Brother  Smith  came  to  give  directions.  On  the  third 
day  we  heard  he  had  arrived.  I  went  in  early  to  see  him. 
I  had  not  slept  for  three  nights  and  had  been  in  the 
saddle  most  of  the  time,  consequently  I  did  not  feel  very 
good-natured.  As  I  was  going  up  to  Brother  Smith's 
house  I  met  three  of  the  principal  brethren  on  the  street. 
They  asked  where  I  was  going.  I  told  them  to  see 
Brother  Smith.  They  replied  that  he  was  not  up  and  I 
could  not  see  him.  I  answered,  'T  will  go  and  see." 
Sure  enough  they  were  right  and  somewhat  sarcastically 
said,  *'You  will  learn  some  day  to  not  be  in  such  a 
hurry."  I  was  very  angry  and  made  an  ill-natured 
remark. 

After  going  and  getting  my  breakfast  I  went  back 
to  G.  A.  Smith's  house.  He  was  sitting  by  the  door  in 
company  with  the  men  I  had  met  before. 

Brother  Smith  shook  hands  with  me  saying,  'T 
understand  you  called  me  a  big  lazy  lout.  What  do  you 
mean  by  such  talk  ?     Did  you  say  it  ? "    I  repHed  ''Yes  sir. 


6o       •  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

I  have  been  up  with  Brother  Ward  three  nights  herding 
cattle ;  he  is  with  the  cattle  now,  we  are  worn  out  and 
cannot  stand  it  any  longer ;  I  thought  when  you  only 
rode  from  Salt  Lake  City  in  a  carriage,  and  have  slept 
all  night,  you  could  just  as  well  get  up  and  attend  to 
business  as  for  us  to  be  up  three  nights.  That  is  why  I 
said  it." 

Brother  Smith  turned  to  one  of  these  men,  saying, 
"Go  get  some  men  and  relieve  Brother  Barney  immedi- 
ately. Bro.  Jones  go  home  and  go  to  sleep  ;  when  you 
wake  up  you  will  feel  better."  I  felt  ashamed  for  Bro. 
Smith  manifested  no  anger. 

When  I  awoke  in  the  afternoon  I  went  to  see  Bro. 
Smith  intending  to  ask  his  pardon.  On  seeing  me  he 
took  me  by  the  hand,  laughing  heartily,  asking  me  if  I 
felt  any  better,  and  talking  in  a  very  pleasant  manner, 
giving  me  no  chance  to  apologize.  Many  years  after- 
wards he  spoke  of  it,  and  laughed  about  it  as  a  good 
joke.  I  relate  this  to  show  the  nobility  of  his  character, 
being  above  small  prejudice.  I  have  met  others  who 
ought  to  be  as  good  as  Brother  Smith,  who  would  never 
have  forgiven  me  if  I  had  made  such  a  remark  about 
them. 

How  long  the  war  continued  is  a  question.  Active 
hostilities  were  kept  up  more  or  less  according  to  oppor- 
tunities during  the  summer  of  '53.  When  the  Indians 
had  a  good  chance  they  would  steal  or  kill.  Some  were 
more  or  less  peaceable  when  it  suited  them.  I  never 
went  out  to  fight  as  I  made  no  pretensions  whatever  of 
being  an  Indian  fighter.  I  did  my  portion  of  military  duty. 
I  assisted  in  various  ways  in  helping  to  protect  ourselves 
against  the  natives,  but  I  always  made  it  a  rule  to  culti- 
vate a  friendly  feeling  whenever  opportunity  presented; 
so  much  so  that  the  Indians   always  recognized  me  as  a 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  6 1 

friend  to  their  race.  I  had  learned  some  little  about 
military  affairs  while  in  Mexico.  I  assisted  in  organizing 
and  drilling  the  militia  from  time  to  time.  I  also  acted 
as  adjutant  under  Col.  P.  W.  Conover  as  early  as  '51. 
afterwards  filled  the  same  position  under  Col.  Pace  in 
'53.  I  did  not  like  the  office  and  resigned,  but  was  in- 
duced to  accept  the  office  again  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing out  returns  to  the  government  for  services  rendered 
by  some  of  the  Utah  militia.  These  returns  were 
accepted,  the  men  paid,  and  land  warrants  issued.  I 
was  assisted  by  L.  J.  Nuttall  and  G.  W.  Hickman  as 
clerks.  After  this  Brother  Nuttall  was  appointed  in  my 
place  and  continued  to  act  under  Col.  Pace  to  my  knowl- 
edge, as  late  as  the  Echo  Canyon  War. 

President  Young  advised  the  people  to  wall  in  their 
towns.  This  puzzled  the  Indians.  We  told  them  it  was 
our  intention  to  shut  them  out  and  have  no  more  to  do 
with  them.  This  they  did  not  like  for  there  was  no  great 
length  of  time,  but  what  some  of  the  different  bands  were 
on  friendly  terms  with  the  settlers.  Walker  finally  said 
if  we  would  quit  building  walls,  they  would  quit  fighting. 
But  the  good  peace  was  broken,  and  there  was  always 
some  of  the  whites  holding  grudges  against  the  Indians. 
Still  we  called  it  peace.  The  local  troubles  are  matters 
of  general  history.  I  aim  to  deal  more  with  that  which 
is  not  written. 

I  always  considered  the  natives  entitled  to  a  hearing 
as  well  as  the  whites.  Both  were  often  in  the  wrong. 
The  white  men  should  be  patient  and  just  with  the  Indians 
and  not  demand  of  them  in  their  untutored  condition 
the  same  responsibility  they  would  of  the  more  intelligent 
class.  Further  along  in  this  history  we  will  see  the 
Indians'  defence. 


62  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

President  Young  calls  for  Volunteers  to  meet  the  Hand-cart  Company 
— I  Join  the  Party — Names  of  the  Company — One  party  of 
Emigrants  found  in  a  Starving  Condition. 

T  ATTENDED  the  October  conference  of  1856.  When 
1  conference  was  opened  President  Young  arose  and 
said:  "There  area  number  of  our  people  on  the  plains 
who  have  started  to  come  with  hand-carts ;  they  will 
need  help  and  I  want  twenty  teams  to  be  ready  by 
morning  with  two  men  to  each  team  to  go  out  and  meet 
them.  If  the  teams  are  not  voluntarily  furnished,  there 
are  plenty  of  good  ones  in  the  street  and  I  shall  call 
upon  Brother  J.  C.  Little,  the  marshal,  to  furnish  them. 
Now  we  will  adjourn  this  conference  until  to-morrow." 
Brother  Young  was  in  earnest  ;  he  seemed  moved  by  a 
spirit  that  would  admit  of  no  delay. 

A  few  days  before  this  a  number  of  elders  had 
arrived  from  the  old  country  reporting  that  the  hand-cart 
people  were  on  the  road,  but  they  did  not  know  how  far 
they  had  advanced.  In  those  days  there  was  no  tele- 
graph, and  mails  from  the  east  only  reached  Utah 
monthly,  they  being  many  times  delayed  by  high  water, 
Indians  or  other  causes. 

Brother  Young  called  upon  every  one  present  to 
lend  a  hand  in  fitting  up  these  teams.  As  I  was  going 
out  with  the  crowd,  Brother  Wells  spoke  to  me  saying: 
''You  are  a  good  hand  for  the  trip  ;  get  ready."  Soon 
after  Bishop  Hunter  said  the  same  thing  to  me.  Also 
Brother  Grant  met  me  and  said  :  'T  want  you  on  this 
trip."  I  began  to  think  it  time  to  decide,  so  I  answered, 
''all  right." 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  63 

I  had  a  saddle  horse.  We  were  instructed  to  get 
everything  we  could  ready  and  rendezvous  between  the 
Big  and  Little  Mountains,  a  short  day's  drive  out  from 
Salt  Lake.  Next  day  teams  and  volunteer  men  were 
ready.  A  better  outfit  and  one  more  adapted  to  the 
work  before  us  I  do  not  think  could  have  possibly  been 
selected  if  a  week  had  been  spent  in  fitting  up.  Besides 
the  wagons  and  teams,  several  men  went  horseback. 
We  had  good  teams  and  provisions  in  great  abundance. 
But  best  of  all,  those  going  were  alive  to  the  work  and 
were  of  the  best  material  possible  for  the  occasion. 

As  soon  as  all  were  together  we  organized  and 
moved  on.  George  D.  Grant  was  selected  captain,  with 
Robert  Burton  and  William  Kimball  as  assistants ;  Cyrus 
Wheelock,  chaplain ;  Charles  Decker,  guide.  I  was 
given  the  important  position  of  chief  cook  for  the  head 
mess.  I  was  quite  proud  of  my  office,  for  it  made  me 
the  most  sought  after  and  popular  man  in  the  camp.  The 
rest  of  the  company  was  made  up  of  the  following  per- 
sons: Joseph  A.  Young,  Chauncey  Webb,  H.  H.  Cluff,  D. 
P.  Kimball,  George  W.  Grant,  Ed.  Peck,  Joel  Parrish, 
Henry  Goldsbrough,  Thomas  Alexander,  Benjamin 
Hampton,  Thomas  Ricks,  Abe  Garr,  Charles  Grey,  Al 
Hundngton,  ''Handsome  Cupid,"  Stephen  Taylor,  Wil- 
liam K.  Broomhead,  Ira  Nebeker,  Redick  Allred,  Amos 
Fairbanks  and  Tom  Bankhead,  a  colored  man.  These 
are  all  the  names  that  I  remember,  if  there  were  any 
more  I  have  been  unable  to  find  them. 

The  weather  soon  became  cold  and  stormy.  We 
traveled  hard,  never  taking  time  to  stop  for  dinner.  On 
getting  into  camp  all  were  hungry  and  willing  to  help. 
No  doubt  many  of  the  boys  remember  the  hearty  suppers 
eaten  on  this  expedition.  There  was  some  expectation 
of  meeting  the  first  train,  Brother  Willie's,  on  or  about 


64  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Green  river.  We  began  to  feel  great  anxiety  about  the 
emigrants  as  the  weather  was  now  cold  and  stormy,  and 
we,  strong  men  with  good  outfits,  found  the  nights 
severe.  What  must  be  the  condition  of  those  we  were 
to  meet.  Many  old  men  and  women,  little  children, 
mothers  with  nursing  babes,  crossing  the  plains  pulling 
hand-carts.  Our  hearts  began  to  ache  when  we  reached 
Green  river  and  yet  no  word  of  them.  Here  an  express 
was  sent  on  ahead  with  a  light  wagon  to  meet  and  cheer 
the  people  up.  Cyrus  Wheelock  and  Stephen  Taylor 
went  with  this  express. 

At  the  South  Pass,  we  encountered  a  severe  snow- 
storm. After  crossing  the  divide  we  turned  down  into  a 
sheltered  place  on  the  Sweetwater.  While  in  camp  and 
during  the  snow-storm  two  men  were  seen  on  horseback 
going  west.  They  were  hailed.  On  reaching  us  they  proved 
to  be  Brothers  Willie  and  J.  B.  Elder.  They  reported 
their  company  in  a  starving  condition  at  their  camp  then 
east  of  Rocky  Ridge  and  said  our  express  had  gone  on 
to  meet  the  other  companies  still  in  the  rear.  We 
started  immediately  through  the  storm  to  reach  Brother 
Willie's  camp.  On  arriving  we  found  them  in  a  con- 
dition that  would  stir  the  feelings  of  the  hardest  heart. 
They  were  in  a  poor  place,  the  storm  having  caught  them 
where  fuel  was  scarce.  They  were  out  of  provisions 
and  really  freezing  and  starving  to  death.  The  morning 
after  our  arrival  nine  were  buried  in  one  grave.  We  did 
all  we  could  to  relieve  them.  The  boys  struck  out  on 
horseback  and  dragged  up  a  lot  of  wood  ;  provisions  were 
distributed  and  all  went  to  work  to  cheer  the  sufferers. 
Soon  there  was  an  improvement  in  camp,  but  many  poor, 
faithful  people  had  gone  too  far — had  passed  beyond  the 
power  to  recruit.  Our  help  came  too  late  for  some  and 
many  died  after  our  arrival. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  65 

William  Kimball  with  a  few  men  and  wagons  turned 
back,  taking  the  oversight  of  this  company  to  help  them 
in.  Capt.  Grant  left  a  wagon  load  of  flour  near  the  Pass 
with  Redick  Allred  to  guard  it.  There  were  several 
hundred  people  with  Brother  Willie.  They  had  a  few 
teams,  but  most  of  them  had  become  too  weak  to  be  of 
much  service.  When  we  left  Salt  Lake  it  was  under- 
stood that  other  teams  would  follow  until  all  the  help 
needed  would  be  on  the  road. 

The  greater  portion  of  our  company  now  continued 
on  towards  Devil's  Gate,  traveling  through  snow  all  the 
way.  When  we  arrived  at  Devil's  Gate  we  found  our 
express  there  awaiting  us.  No  tidings  as  yet  were  re- 
ceived of  the  other  companies. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Myself  and  two  Companions  sent  to  Search  for  Missing  Companies — 
We  find  Them — Our  Cool  Reception  at  One  Camp — Apathy 
Manifested — Terrible  Sufferings. 

HAVING  seen  the  sufferings  of  Brother  Willie's 
company,  we  more  fully  realized  the  danger  the 
others  were  in.  The  Elders  who  had  just  returned  from 
England  having  many  dear  friends  with  these  companies, 
suffered  great  anxiety,  some  of  them  feeling  more  or  less 
the  responsibility  resting  upon  them  for  allowing  these 
people  to  start  so  late  in  the  season  across  the  plains. 
At  first  we  were  at  a  loss  what  to  do  for  we  did  not 
expect  to  have  to  go  further  than  Devil's  Gate.  We 
decided  to  make  camp  and   send  on  an  express   to  find 


66  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

where  the  people  were  and  not  to  return  until  they  were 
found. 

Joseph  A.  Young,  Abe  Garr  and  I  were  selected. 
(Some  histories  give  other  names,  but  I  was  there  my- 
self and  am  not  mistaken).  With  picked  saddle  horses 
and  a  pack  mule  we  started  out. 

The  first  night  we  camped,  our  horses  followed  a 
band  of  buffaloes  several  miles ;  it  was  near  noon  the 
next  day  when  we  returned  with  them.  We  determined 
to  get  even  with  them  so  rode  at  full  gallop  wherever  the 
the  road  would  permit.  After  riding  about  twelve  miles 
we  saw  a  white  man's  shoe  track  in  the  road.  Bro. 
Young  called  out,  "Here  they  are."  We  put  our  animals 
to  their  utmost  speed  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  camp 
at  Red  Bluff.  This  was  Brother  Edward  Martin's  hand- 
cart company  and  Ben  Horgett's  wagon  company. 
There  was  still  another  wagon  company  down  near  the 
Platte  crossing. 

This  company  was  in  almost  as  bad  a  condition  as 
the  first  one.  They  had  nearly  given  up  hope.  Their 
provisions  were  about  exhausted  and  many  of  them  worn 
out  and  sick.  When  we  rode  in,  there  was  a  general 
rush  to  shake  hands.  I  took  no  part  in  the  ceremony. 
Many  declared  we  were  angels  from  heaven.  I  told 
them  I  thought  we  were  better  than  angels  for  this  occa- 
sion, as  we  were  good  strong  men  come  to  help  them 
into  the  valley,  and  that  our  company,  and  wagons 
loaded  with  provisions,  were  not  far  away.  I  thought  this 
the  best  consolation  under  the  circumstances.  Brother 
Young  told  the  people  to  gather  '*up"  and  move  on 
at  once  as  the  only  salvation  was  to  travel  a  little  every 
day.  This  was  right  and  no  doubt  saved  many  lives  for 
we,  among  so  many,  (some  twelve  hundred)  could  do 
but  little,  and  there  was  danger  of  starvation  before  help 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  67 

could  arrive  unless  the  people  made  some  head-way 
toward  the  valley. 

After  talking  to  and  encouraging  the  people,  they 
agreed  to  start  on  the  next  morning.  We  then  started 
full  gallop  for  John  Hunt's  camp  fifteen  miles  further. 
On  arriving  no  one  noticed  us  or  appeared  to  care  who 
we  were.  Their  tents  were  pitched  in  good  shape,  wood 
was  plentiful,  and  no  one  seemed  concerned.  Joseph  A. 
Young  became  offended,  not  expecting  such  a  cool  re- 
ception and  remarked,  ''Well  it  appears  we  are  not 
needed  here."  So  we  went  down  into  the  bottom,  and 
made  camp  for  ourselves.  After  a  while  some  one 
sauntered  down  our  way,  thinking  probably  we  were 
mountaineers.  These  recognized  Brother  Young  and 
made  a  rush  for  camp,  giving  the  word;  soon  we  were 
literally  carried  in  and  a  special  tent  was  pitched  for  our 
use.  Everything  was  done  to  make  "  amends  "  for  the 
previous  neglect.  I  never  could  see  where  the  amends 
came  in,  for  no  one  happened  to  know  us  when  we  first 
arrived,  and  strangers  were  often  passing,  this  being 
near  where   several  camps  of  old  traders  were  located. 

About  the  time  we  were  settled  in  our  tent,  Captain 
Hunt  and  Gilbert  Van  Schoonhoven,  his  assistant,  arrived 
from  the  Platte  bridge,  also  Captain  Ben  Horgett.  They 
were  rejoiced  to  meet  us.  Here  I  first  met  "Gib  Spen- 
cer" and  formed  a  friendly  acquaintance  with  him  which 
continues  to  this  day. 

These  people  were  just  on  the  eve  of  suffering,  but 
as  yet  had  not.  Quite  a  number  of  their  cattle  had  died 
during  the  snow  storm  which  had  now  been  on  them  for 
nine  days. 

Next  morning  Brother  Young  and  others  went  to 
Platte  bridge,  leaving  Brother  Garr  and  I  to  get  the 
company  started  according  to  agreement  made  the  even- 


68  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

ing  before.  There  was  a  spirit  of  apathy  among  the 
people,  instead  of  going  for  their  teams  at  once,  several 
began  to  quarrel  about  who  should  go.  This  made  us 
feel  like  leaving  them  to  take  care  of  themselves.  We 
saddled  up  to  do  so.  The  clouds  were  gathering  thickly 
for  storm,  and  just  as  we  were  about  to  start  it  com- 
menced snowing  very  hard.  The  heavens  were  obscured 
by  clouds,  excepting  a  small  place  about  the  shape  of 
the  gable  end  of  a  house.  This  opening  was  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  valley  and  the  sun  seemed  to  shine  through 
with  great  brightness.  We  mounted  our  mules  ;  Brother 
Garr,  pointing  to  the  bright  spot  in  the  heavens,  said, 
**Do  you  see  that  hole?  You  had  better  all  get  out  of 
here  before  that  closes  up,  for  it  is  your  opening  to  the 
valley.  We  are  going."  The  people,  I  believe,  took 
this  for  a  warning  and  soon  started  for  their  cattle. 

Next  morning  they  moved  on.  Brother  Garr  and  I 
went  back  to  where  E.  Martin's  camp  had  been.  They 
had  rolled  out  and  Captain  Horgetts  wagon  company 
were  just  starting. 

We  continued  on,  overtaking  the  hand-cart  company 
ascending  a  long  muddy  hill.  A  condition  of  distress 
here  met  my  eyes  that  I  never  saw  before  or  since.  The 
train  was  strung  out  for  three  or  four  miles.  There  were 
old  men  pulling  and  tugging  their  carts,  sometimes 
loaded  with  a  sick  wife  or  children — women  pulling  along 
sick  husbands — little  children  six  to  eight  years  old  strug- 
gling through  the  mud  and  snow.  As  night  came  on  the 
mud  would  freeze  on  their  clothes  and  feet.  There  were 
two  of  us  and  hundreds  needing  help.  What  could  we 
do?  We  gathered  on  to  some  of  the  most  helpless  with 
our  riatas  tied  to  the  carts,  and  helped  as  many  as  we 
could  into  camp  on  Avenue  hill. 

This   was   a    bitter,    cold    night    and    we    had    no 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  69 

fuel  except  very  small  sage  brush.      Several  died  that 
night. 

Next  morning,  Brother  Young  having  come  up,  we 
three  started  for  our  camp  near  Devil's  Gate.  All  were 
rejoiced  to  get  the  news  that  we  had  found  the  emigrants. 
The  following  morning  most  of  the  company  moved 
down,  meeting  the  hand-cart  company  at  Greasewood 
creek.  Such  assistance  as  we  could  give  was  rendered 
to  all  until  they  finally  arrived  at  Devil's  Gate  fort  about 
the  I  St  of  November.  There  were  some  twelve  hun- 
dred in  all,  about  one-half  with  hand-carts  and  the  other 
half  with  teams. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Short  Rations — Wagons  Unloaded  of  Their  Freight  and  Loaded 
With  Emigrants — Myself  and  Company  Left  to  Guard  the 
goods — One  Sister's  Discouragement. 

THE  winter  storms  had  now  set  in,  in  all  their  severity. 
The  provisions  we  took  amounted  to  almost  nothing 
among  so  many  people,  many  of  them  now  on  very 
short  rations,  some  almost  starving.  Many  were  dying 
daily  from  exposure  and  want  of  food.  We  were  at  a 
loss  to  know  why  others  had  not  come  on  to  our  assist- 
ance. 

The  company  was  composed  of  average  emigrants: 
old,  middle-aged  and  young  ;  women  and  children.  The 
men  seemed  to  be  failing  and  dying  faster  than  the 
women  and  children. 

The  hand-cart  company  was  moved  over  to  a  cove  in 
the  mountains  for  shelter  and  fuel  :  a  distance  of  two 


70  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

miles  from  the  fort.  The  wagons  were  banked  near 
the  fort.  It  became  impossible  to  travel  further 
without  reconstruction  or  help.  We  did  all  we  possibly 
could  to  help  and  cheer  the  people.  Some  writers  have 
endeavored  to  make  individual  heroes  of  some  of  our 
company.  I  have  no  remembrance  of  any  one  shirking 
his  duty.  Each  and  everyone  did  all  they  possibly  could 
and  justice  would  give  to  each  his  due  credit. 

All  the  people  who  could,  crowded  into  the  houses 
of  the  fort  out  of  the  cold  and  storm.  One  crowd  cut 
away  the  walls  of  the  house  they  were  in  for  fuel,  until 
half  of  the  roof  fell  in  ;  fortunately  they  were  all  on  the 
protected  side  and  no  one  was  hurt. 

Many  suggestions  were  offered  as  to  what  should  be 
done,  some  efforts  being  made  to  cache  the  imperishable 
goods  and  go  on  with  the  rest.  Accordingly  pits  were 
dug,  boxes  opened  and  the  hardware,  etc.,  put  in  one, 
while  clothing,  etc.,  were  put  in  another. 

Often  these  boxes  belonged  to  different  persons. 
An  attempt  was  made  by  Brother  Cantwell,  to  keep  an 
account  of  these  changes. 

This  caching  soon  proved  to  be  a  failure  for  the  pits 
would  fill, up  with  drifting  snow  as  fast  as  the  dirt  was  f 
thrown  out,  so  no  caches  were  made.      The  goods  were 
never  replaced. 

Each  evening  the  Elders  would  meet  in  council.  I 
remember  hearing  Charles  Decker  remark  that  he  had 
crossed  the  plains  over  fifty  times  (carrying  the  mail)  and 
this  was  the  darkest  hour  he  had  ever  seen.  Cattle  and 
horses  were  dying  every  day.  What  to  do  was  all  that  . 
could  be  talked  about.  Five  or  six  days  had  passed  and 
nothing  determined  upon. 

Steve  Taylor,  Al.  Huntington  and  I  were  together 
when  the  question,    ''Why  doesn't  Captain  Grant  leave 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  7 1 

all  the  goods  here  with  some  one  to  watch  them,  and 
move  on  ?"  was  asked.  We  agreed  to  make  this  pro- 
posal to  him.  It  was  near  the  time  appointed  for  the 
meeting.  '  As  soon  as  we  were  together,  Capt.  Grant 
asked  if  anyone  had  thought  of  a  plan.  We  presented 
ours.  Capt.  Grant  replied,  "I  have  thought  of  this,  but 
there  are  no  provisions  to  leave  and  it  would  be  asking 
too  much  of  anyone  to  stay  here  and  starve  for  the  sake 
of  these  goods  ;  besides,  where  is  there  a  man  who 
would  stay  if  called  upon."  I  answered,  "Any  of  us 
would."  I  had  no  idea  I  would  be  selected,  as  it  was 
acknowledged  I  was  the  best  cook  in  camp  and  Capt. 
Grant  had  often  spoken  as  though  he  could  not  spare 
me. 

That  a  proper  understanding  may  be  had,  I  will  say 
that  these  goods  were  the  luggage  of  a  season's  emi- 
gration that  these  two  wagon  trains  had  contracted  to 
freight,  and  it  was  being  taken  through  as  well  as  the 
luggage  of  the  people  present.  Leaving  these  goods 
meant  to  abandon  all  that  many  poor  families  had  upon 
earth.     So   it  was   different  from  common  merchandise. 

There  was  a  move  made  at  once  to  adopt  this  sug- 
gestion. Accordingly,  next  morning  store  rooms  in  the 
fort  were  cleared  and  some  two  hundred  wagons  run  in 
and  unloaded.  No  one  was  allowed  to  keep  out  any- 
thing but  a  change  of  clothing,  some  bedding  and  light 
cooking  utensils.  Hauling  provisions  was  not  a  weighty 
question. 

This  unloading  occupied  three  days.  The  hand- 
cart people  were  notified  to  abandon  most  of  their  carts. 
Teams  were  hitched  up  and  the  sick  and  feeble  loaded 
in  with  such  light  weight  as  was  allowed.  All  became 
common  property. 

When  everything  was  ready  Brother  Burton  said  to 


72  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

me,  *'Now  Brother  Jones  we  want  you  to  pick  two  men 
from  the  valley  to  stay  with  you.  We  have  notified 
Captains  Hunt  and  Horgett  to  detail  seventeen  men 
from  their  companies  to  stay  with  you.  We  will  move 
on  in  the  morning.  Get  your  company  together  and 
such  provisions  as  you  can  find  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  may  have  anything  to  spare.  You  know  ours  is 
about  out.  Will  you  do  it?"  I  said,  "Yes."  "Well 
take  your  choice  from  our  company.  You  are 
acquainted  with  the  boys  and  whoever  you  want  will 
stay."  I  had  a  great  mind  to  tell  him  I  wanted  Captains 
Qrant  and  Burton. 

There  was  not  money  enough  on  earth  to  have 
hired  me  to  stay.  I  had  left  home  for  only  a  few  days 
and  was  not  prepared  to  remain  so  long  away  ;  but  I 
remembered  my  assertion  that  any  of  us  would  stay  if 
called  upon.  I  could  not  back  out,  so  I  selected  Thomas 
Alexander  and  Ben  Hampton.  I  am  satisfied  that  two 
more  faithful  men  to  stand  under  all  hardships  could  not 
have  been  found. 

That  night  we  were  called  together  and  organized 
as  a  branch.  Dan  W.  Jones,  Thomas  Alexander  and 
Ben  Hampton  were  chosen  to  preside,  with  J.  Laty  as 
clerk.  The  rest  of  the  company  was  composed  of  the 
following  names:  John  Cooper,  John  Hardcastle,  John 
Shorton,  John  Chapel,  John  Galbraith,  John  Ellis,  John 
Whitaker,  William  Handy,  William  Laty,  Edwin  Sum- 
mers, Rossiter  Jenkins,  Elisha  Manning,  Henry  Jakeman 
George  Watt,  George  Watts  and 

Captain  Grant  asked  about  our  provisions.  I  told 
him  they  were  scant,  but  as  many  were  suffering  and 
some  dying,  all  we  asked  was  an  equal  chance  with  the 
rest.  He  told  us  there  would  be  a  lot  of  worn  out 
cattle   left  ;  to  gather  them    up    and  try   to  save  them. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  "J  T, 

They  consisted  mostly  of  yearlings  and  two-year-old 
heifers,  some  one  was  taking  through. 

The  storm  had  now  ceased  to  rage  and  great  hopes 
were  felt  for  a  successful  move.  We  were  daily  expect- 
ing more  help  and  often  wondered  why  it  did  not  come. 
Next  day  all   hands   pulled  out,  most  of  them  on  foot. 

After  getting  my  camp  regulated  a  little  and  giving 
some  instructions,  I  got  on  my  horse  and  rode  on 
to  see  how  the  train  was  moving  along.  All  were  out 
of  sight  when  I  started.  After  traveling  a  few  miles,  I 
came  upon  a  lady  sitting  alone  on  the  side  of  the  road, 
weeping  bitterly.  I  noticed  she  was  elegantly  dressed 
and  appeared  strong  and  well.  I  asked  her  what  was 
the  matter.  She  sobbingly  replied,  "This  is  too  much 
for  me.  I  have  always  had  plenty,  and  have  never  known 
hardships  ;  we  had  a  good  team  and  wagon  ;  my  hus- 
band, if  let  alone,  could  have  taken  me  on  in  comfort. 
Now  I  am  turned  out  to  walk  in  this  wind  and  snow.  I 
am  determined  not  to  go  on  but  will  stay  here  and  die. 
My  husband  has  gone  on  and  left  me,  but  I  will  not  go 
another  step."  The  train  was  two  or  three  miles  ahead 
and  moving  on.  I  persuaded  her  after  a  while  to  go  on 
with  me. 

This  lady,  Mrs.  Linforth,  and  her  husband  now  live 
in  San  Francisco,  California.  They  could  not  stand  the 
hardships  of  Zion  ;  but  I  believe  they  are  friendly  to  our 
people. 

After  overtaking  the  train  and  seeing  them  on  the 
move.  Captain  Grant  asked  me  to  go  back  with  instruc- 
tions for  the  brethren  left  with  me  ;  then  to  come  on 
next  day  and  camp  with  them  over  night. 

On  calling  the  company  together  at  the  fort  that 
night,  I  told  them  in  plain  words  that  if  there  was  a  man 
in  camp  who  could  not  help  eat  the  last  poor  animal  left 


74  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

with  US,  hides  and  all,  suffer  all  manner  of  privations, 
almost  starve  to  death,  that  he  could  go  on  with  me  the 
next  day  and  overtake  the  trains.  No  one  wanted  to  go. 
All  voted  to  take  their  chances. 

On  taking  stock  of  provisions,  we  found  about 
twenty  day's  rations.  No  salt  or  bread  excepting  a  few 
crackers.  There  w^as  at  least  five  months  of  winter 
before  us  and  nothing  much  to  eat  but  a  few  perishing 
cattle  and  w^hat  game  we  might  chance  to  kill.  The 
game  was  not  very  certain,  as  the  severe  storms  had 
driven  everything  away.  The  first  move  was  to  fix  up 
the  fort.  Accordingly  Brother  Alexander,  being  a  prac- 
tical man,  was  appointed  to  manage  the  business  ; 
Brother  Hampton  was  to  see  about  the  cattle. 

I  followed  the  train  this  day  to  their  second  encamp- 
ment and  the  next  day  traveled  with  them.  There  was 
much  suffering,  deaths  occurring  often.  Eph  Hanks 
arrived  in  camp  from  the  valley  and  brought  word  that 
some  of  the  teams  that  had  reached  South  Pass  and 
should  have  met  us  here,  had  turned  back  towards  home 
and  tried  to  persuade  Redick  Allred,  who  was  left  there 
with  a  load  of  flour,  to  go  back  with  them.  The  men 
who  did  this  might  have  felt  justified  ;  they  said  it  was 
no  use  going  farther,  that  we  had  doubtless  all  perished. 
I  will  not  mention  their  names  for  it  was  always  looked 
upon  by  the  company  as  cowardly  in  the  extreme. 

If  this  had  not  occurred  it  was  the  intention  of  Cap- 
tain Grant  to  have  sent  some  one  down  to  us  with  a  load 
of  flour.  As  it  was,  by  the  time  any  was  received,  the 
people  were  in  a  starving  condition,  and  could  not 
spare  it. 

From  the  third  camp,  where  I  saw  the  last  of  the 
brethren,  an  express  was  sent  on  to  catch  the  returning 
supplies  and  continue  on  to  the  valley,  giving  word  that 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  75 

the  train  was  coming.  I  know  nothing  more  of  them 
except  from  reports.  As  I  am  writing  mainly  from  my 
own  observations,  I  will  simply  state  that  after  great  suf- 
fering and  much  assistance  (hundreds  turning  out  to 
help)    the   emigrants  were  finally  landed  in   the   valley. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


We  kill  our  Cattle  to  keep  Them  from  Wolves — Visit  from  Two 
Brethren — Letter  from  President  Young — A  Mail  Company 
nearly  Perishes. 

1LEFT  the  corripany  feeling  a  little  downcast,  to  return 
to  Devil's  Gate.  It  was  pretty  well  understood  that 
there  would  be  no  relief  sent  us.  My  hopes  were  that 
we  could  kill  game.  We  had  accepted  the  situation,  and 
as  far  as  Capt.  Grant  was  concerned  he  had  done  as 
much  as  he  could  for  us.  There  was  more  risk  for  those 
who  went  on  than  for  us  remaining. 

On  returning  to  camp,  I  found  that  the  cattle  left 
were  very  poor.  The  weather  had  moderated  and  we 
hoped  to  get  them  on  good  feed  and  recruit  them  a  little. 
Over  two  hundred  head  of  cattle  had  died  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  fort.  Along  the  road  each  way  for  a  day's  travel 
were  carcases.  This  led  droves  of  prarie  wolves  into 
our  camp,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  keep  them  off 
from  the  cattle  in  the  day  time.  We  were  obliged  to 
corral  them  at  night.  Once  in  the  day  time  a  small 
bunch  was  taken  and  run  off  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the 
herders  to  stop  them.     In  fact,  it  became  dangerous  to 


76  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

face  these  wolves,  they  were  at  times  almost  ready  to 
attack  men. 

We  soon  found  it  would  be  impossible  to  save  the 
cattle.  Already  some  twenty-five  had  died  or  been 
killed  by  the  wolves  within  a  week.  It  was  decided  to 
kill  the  rest,  some  fifty  head.  A  few  were  in  living 
order,  but  many  would  have  died  within  twenty-four 
hours.  In  fact  we  killed  them  to  keep  them  from  dying. 
We  had  a  first-class  butcher  from  London,  who  dressed 
everything  in  the  best  style.  Everything  was  saved  that 
we  thought  might  be  eaten.  We  hung  the  meat  up. 
The  poorest  of  it  we  did  not  expect  to  eat,  but  intended 
to  use  it  for  wolf  bait  further  along  when  the  carcases 
were  all  devoured,  provided  we  could  get  traps  from  the 
Platte  bridge,  which  we  afterwards  did.  We  never  used 
our  poor  beef  for  wolf  bait  as  we  had  to  eat  the  whole 
of  it  ourselves,  and  finally  the  hides  were  all  consumed 
for  food. 

After  killing  the  cattle  we  had  nothing  much  to  do 
but  fix  up  the  fort  and  look  after  four  ponies  we  had 
left.  Brother  Hampton  and  myself  had  our  saddle 
horses  yet  in  good  order. 

There  were  plenty  of  guns  and  ammunition  left  with 
us,  also  dishes  and  cooking  utensils.  After  thoroughly 
repairing  the  houses,  chinking  and  daubing  them,  we 
overhauled  the  goods  stored  away. 

While  storing  the  bales  and  boxes  the  snow  had 
drifted  in  among  them.  There  was  nothing  but  dirt 
floors  and  the  goods  had  been  tumbled  in  without  any 
regard  to  order.  Having  cleaned  out  everything,  we 
took  ox  yokes,  of  which  there  were  a  great  many,  and 
made  floors  of  them  and  then  piled  the  goods  on  them. 
While  handling  ihe  goods  we  found  some  coffee,  sugar 
and  fruit,  also  a  roll  of  leather.     These  we  kept  out  and 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  77 

put  in  our  store  room  for  use.  We  also  found  a  box  of 
soap  and  candles.  These  goods  were  marked  F.  D. 
Richards,  Daniel  Spencer,  John  Van  Cott,  James  Furge- 
son,  William  Dunbar,  Cyrus  Wheelock  and  Chauncy 
Webb ;  most  of  them  John  Van  Cott.  We  were  told 
by  Captain  Grant  to  use  anything  we  could  find  to  make 
us  comfortable. 

During  the  time  we  were  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  men's 
minds  did  not  run  much  upon  property,  the  main  interest 
was  to  save  life.  One  prominent  Elder  became  very 
liberal.  He  had  several  large  trunks  filled  with  valuable 
stuff.  He  opened  his  heart  and  trunks,  making  presents 
to  several  of  the  boys  from  the  valley  of  socks,  shirts 
and  such  things  as  would  help  to  make  them  comfort- 
able. He  left  his  trunks  in  my  rooms,  giving  me  the  keys 
and  telling  me  to  use  anything  there  was,  not  to  suffer 
for  anything  that  could  be  found,  and  asked  God  to  bless 
me. 

I  told  the  boys  who  remained  with  me  that  we  had 
better  not  open  this  man's  trunks,  that  when  he  got  to 
the  valley  and  had  time  to  think,  he  would  change  his 
mind  and  would  doubtless  be  thinking  we  were  using  his 
goods,  and  if  we  touched  anything  belonging  to  him  we 
would  be  accused  of  taking  more  than  we  had.  Later 
occurrences  proved  this  to  be  a  good  suggestion. 

With  the  cattle  killed  that  were  fit  to  eat,  and  what 
provisions  we  had  on  hand,  we  managed  to  live  for  a 
while  without  suffering,  except  for  salt.  Bread  soon  gave 
out  and  we  lived  on  meat  alone.  Some  of  us  went  out 
hunting  daily  but  with  poor  success. 

A  day  or  two  before  Christmas,  Ephraim  Hanks 
and  Feramorz  Little  arrived  at  the  fort,  bringing  the 
mail  from  the  valley  with  the  following  letter  of  instruc- 
tions from  President  Young: 


78  forty  years  among  the  indians. 

"President's  Office,  Great  Salt  Lake  City, 

''Dec.   7th,    1856. 

*'  Brothers  Jones,  Alexander  and  Hainpton,  in  charge  at 
Devil  s  Gate,  and  the  rest  of  the  brethren  at  that  place: 

"■  Dear  Brethren  :  Quite  unexpectedly  to  us  we  have 
the  opportunity  of  sending  you  a  few  suggestions,  as 
Judge  Smith,  the  post  master  here,  has  concluded  to  for- 
ward the  eastern  mail  by  Brothers  Feramorz  Little  and 
Ephraim  Hanks. 

"Being  somewhat  aware  of  a  natural  disposition  in 
many  to  relax  their  vigilance  after  a  temporary  and  unac- 
customed watchfulness,  more  especially  in  case  no  par- 
ticular cause  of  alarm  is  of  frequent  occurrence,  I  feel 
impressed  to  write  a  few  suggestions  and  words  of  coun- 
sel to  you  all.  You  are  in  an  Indian  country,  few  in 
number,  blockaded  by  the  snows,  and  far  from  assistance 
at  this  season  of  the  year.  Under  such  circumstances 
you  can  but  realize  the  necessity  of  all  of  you  being  con- 
stantly on  the  alert,  to  be  firm,  steady,  sober-minded  and 
sober-bodied,  united,  faithful  and  watchful,  living  your 
religion.  Do  not  go  from  your  fort  in  small  parties  of  one, 
two  or  three  at  a  time.  But  when  game  is  to  be  sought, 
wood  got  up,  or  any  other  operation  to  be  performed  re- 
quiring you  to  travel  from  under  the  protection  of  the  fort 
guns,  go  in  bands  of  some  ten  or  twelve  together,  and  let 
them  be  well  armed  ;  and  let  those  who  stay  by  the  stuff  be 
watchful  while  their  comrades  are  out.  And  at  all  times 
and  under  all  circumstances  let  every  person  have  his 
arms  and  ammunitions  ready  for  active  service  at  a 
moment's  warning,  so  you  cannot  be  surprised  by  your 
foes  nor  in  any  way  be  taken  advantage  of,  whether  in 
or  out  of  the  fort.  Always  have  plenty  of  water  about 
the  buildings,  and  be  very  careful  about  fires,  and  the 
preservation  from  damp,  fire  or  other  damage  of  the 
goods  in  your  care.  Unless  buffaloes  and  other  game 
come  within  a  reasonable  distance,  you  had  better  kill 
some  of  the  cattle  than  run  much  risk  in  quest  of  game. 
Use  all  due  diligence  for  the  preservation  of  your  stock. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  79 

and  try  to  so  ration  out  your  flour  as  to  have  it  last  until 
we  can  send  you  relief,  which,  as  before  stated,  will  be 
forwarded  as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring,  but  may  not 
reach  you  until  May,  depending  somewhat  on  the  winter 
snows  and  spring  weather,  of  which  you  will  be  able  to 
form  an  estimate  as  the  season  advances. 

"We  will  send  teams  to  your  relief  as  early  as  pos- 
sible in  the  spring,  and  trust  to  learn  that  all  has  been 
well  with  you  and  the  property  in  your  care.  Brothers 
Little  and  Hanks  will  furnish  you  with  items  of  news 
from  the  valley,  and  I  will  forward  you  some  packages 
of  our  papers  by  them. 

"  Praying  you  may  be  united,  faithful  and  protected, 
''I  remain,  Yojjr  brother  in  the  gospel, 

''  Brigham   Young." 

From  this  letter  it  is  plain  to  see  that  Brother  Brig- 
ham  was  not  apprised  of  our  condition.  He  afterwards 
said  if  he  had  known  our  situation  he  would  have 
relieved  us  if  it  had  taken  half  the  men  in  the  valley.  I 
never  felt  to  complain.  The  brethren  who  left  us  knew 
but  little  about  what  was  left  to  provision  us.  The  sup- 
position was  that  the  cattle  would  have  furnished  us  in 
case  game  could  not  be  killed. 

Brother  Alexander  and  I  were  out  for  several  days, 
killing  some  game  on  this  trip.  We  were  much  disap- 
pointed on  our  return  to  find  that  Brothers  Hanks  and 
Little  had  gone  on  east  without  us  seeing  them.  Brother 
Little  looked  around  at  our  supplies,  telling  the  boys  to 
take  care  of  the  hides,  that  they  were  better  than  nothing 
to  eat.     This  proved  good  advice. 

Soon  after,  the  Magraw  mail  company 'came  along 
under  the  charge  of  Jesse  Jones.  They  left  their 
coaches,  fitted  up  with  packs  and  started  for  the  valley. 
Brother  Joseph  L.  Heywood,  United  States  Marshal  for 
Utah,  was  a  passenger.      They  went  as  far  as  the  South 


8o  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Pass.  The  storm  setting  in  so  severely  they  could  not 
face  it,  they  came  near  freezing  to  death ;  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  Brother  Heywood  was  kept  alive. 
The  day  they  returned  to  our  camp  we  had  killed  a 
buffalo  some  twelve  miles  distant,  it  took  all  hands  three 
days  to  get  it  into  camp.  This  buffalo  I  shot  at  the  risk 
of  my  life.  He  was  coming  toward  me  in  a  snow  trail. 
I  lay  on  the  trail  with  nothing  to  protect  me.  If  I  had 
not  killed  him  he  would  doubtless  have  run  on  to  me  ; 
but  he  dropped  at  the  first  shot.  We  were  about  out  of 
anything  fit  to  eat  and  it  did  not  require  much  bravery 
to  take  the  risk^  for  almost  anyone  will  take  desperate 
chances  when  hungry.  We  wounded  two  others,  that 
we  expected  to  get,  but  about  the  time  we  commenced 
dressing  the  one  killed,  there  came  on  a  regular  blizzard 
that  lasted  several  days.  We  had  hard  work  to  save  the 
lives  of  the  men  getting  the  meat  into  camp. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Our  Food  Exhausted — Rawhides  Cooked  and  Eaten — Our  Fast- Day 
— An  unexpected  Supper — A  providental  Food  Supply. 

THE  MAIL  company  went  down  fifty  miles  to  Platte 
bridge  to  winter.  Marshal  Heywood  decided  to 
remain  with  us  and  live  or  die,  as  the  case  might  be,  pre- 
ferring to  be  with  his  brethren.  There  were  no  provi- 
sions to  be  had  at  the  Bridge,  for  three  of  us  had  been 
down  to  see  if  we  could  get  supplies.  We  barely  got 
enough  to  last  us  back.  The  mountaineers  there  had 
some  cattle  but  no  bread,  they  lived  by  hunting. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  8-1 

Game  soon  became  so  scarce  that  we  could  kill 
nothing.  We  ate  all  the  poor  meat;  one  would  get 
hungry  eating  it.  Finally  that  was  all  gone,  nothing 
now  but  hides  were  left.  We  made  a  trial  of  them. 
A  lot  was  cooked  and  eaten  without  any  seasoning 
and  it  made  the  whole  company  sick.  Many  were  so 
turned  against  the  stuff  that  it  made  them  sick  to  think 
of  it. 

We  had  coffee  and  some  sugar,  but  drinking  coffee 
seemed  to  only  destroy  the  appetite,  and  stimulate  for 
only  a  little  while.  One  man  became  delirious  from 
drinking  so  much  of  it. 

Things  looked  dark,  for  nothing  remained  but  the 
poor  raw  hides  taken  from  starved  cattle.  We  asked 
the  Lord  to  direct  us  what  to  do.  The  brethren  did  not 
murmur,  but  felt  to  trust  in  God.  We  had  cooked  the 
hide,  after  soaking  and  scraping  the  hair  off  until  it  was 
soft  and  then  ate  it,  glue  and  all.  This  made  it  rather 
inclined  to  stay  with  us  longer  than  we  desired.  Finally 
I  was  impressed  how  to  fix  the  stuff  and  gave  the  com- 
pany advice,  telling  them  how  to  cook  it  ;  for  them  to 
scorch  and  scrape  the  hair  off ;  this  had  a  tendency  to 
kill  and  purify  the  bad  taste  that  scalding  gave  it.  After 
scraping,  boil  one  hour  in  plenty  of  water,  throwing  the 
water  away  which  had  extracted  all  the  glue,  then  wash 
and  scrape  the  hide  thoroughly,  washing  in  cold  water, 
then  boil  to  a  jelly  and  let  it  get  cold,  and  then  eat  with 
a  little  sugar  sprinkled  on  it.  This  was  considerable 
trouble,  but  we  had  litde  else  to  do  and  it  was  better 
than  starving. 

We  asked  the  Lord  to  bless  our  stomachs  and 
adapt  them  to  this*  food.  We  hadn't  the  faith  to  ask 
him  to  bless  the  raw-hide  for  it  was  ''hard  stock."  On 
eating  now  all  seemed  to  relish  the  feast.      We  were 


82  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

three  days  without  eating  before  this  second  attempt  was 
made.  We  enjoyed  this  sumptuous  fare  for  about  six 
weeks,  and  never  had  the  gout. 

In  February  the  first  Indian  came  to  our  camp. 
He  was  of  the  Snake  tribe,  his  people  were  located  a 
day's  travel  up  the  river.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  we 
were  out  of  everything,  having  not  only  eaten  the  hides 
taken  from  cattle  killed,  but  had  eaten  the  wrappings 
from  the  wagon-tongues,  old  moccasin-soles  were  eaten 
also,  and  a  piece  of  buffalo  hide  that  had  been  used  for 
a  foot  mat  for  two  months. 

The  day  the  Indian  came  was  fast-day,  and  for  us 
fast-day  in  very  truth.  We  met  as  usual  for  we  kept 
our  monthly  fast-day.  During  meeting  we  became  im- 
pressed that  there  were  some  wrongs  existing  among  the 
brethren  in  camp  that  should  be  corrected;  and  that  if 
we  would  make  a  general  cleaning  up,  and  present  our 
case  before  the  Lord,  He  would  take  care  of  us,  for 
we  were  there  on  His  business.  On  questioning  some 
of  the  company  privately,  we  found  that  several  had 
goods  in  their  possession  not  belonging  to  them.  When 
we  felt  satisfied  all  goods  were  replaced  we  went  en  masse 
and  cut  a  hole  in  the  ice  on  the  river.  There  were 
several  carcasses  of  cattle  that  had  died  lying  near 
the  fort,  that  the  wolves  had  not  devoured.  Some  of  the 
boys,  contrary  to  counsel,  had  cut  steaks  from  them 
during  the  time  we  were  eating  the  hides  ;  it  made  them 
quite  sick.  There  was  a  pile  of  offal  in  the  butcher  shop 
from  the  poor  cattle  killed.  But  what  looked  more 
tempting  than  all  to  starving  men  was  a  pile  of  more 
than  one  hundred  fat  wolf  carcasses,  skinned,  piled  up 
and  frozen  near  the  fort.  They  looked  very  much  like 
nice  fat  mutton.  Many  of  the  company  asked  my  opinion 
about  eating  them.     I  told  them  if  they  would  all  do  as  I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  '       83 

advised  we  would  have  a  good  clean  supper  of  healthy 
food ;  that  these  carcasses  were  unclean ;  that  we  were 
on  the  Lord's  service,  and  did  not  believe  He  wanted 
us  to  suffer  so  much,  if  we  only  had  faith  to  trust  Him 
and  ask  for  better. 

We  all  became  united  in  this  feeling.  Accordingly 
we  hauled  all  these  carcasses  of  cattle,  the  wolves,  also 
the  offal  from  the  store-house  and  shoved  them  into  the 
hole  cut  in  the  ice,  where  they  floated  off  out  of  our 
reach.  We  then  went  and  washed  out  our  store-house 
and  presented  it  before  the  Lord  empty,  but  clean. 

Near  sundown  the  Indian  spoken  of  came  to  our 
quarters.  Some  of  the  boys  hunted  up  a  small  piece 
of  raw  hide  and  gave  it  to  him.  He  said  he  had  eaten 
it  before.  None  of  us  were  able  to  talk  much  with 
him  ;  we  invited  him  to  remain  with  us  over  night. 
Evening  came  on  and  no  supper;,  eight  o'clock,  no  word 
from  any  one.  And  the  word  had  been  positively  given 
that  we  should  have  supper.  Between  eight  and  nine 
o'clock  all  were  sitting  waiting,  now  and  then  good-natur- 
edly saying  it  was  most  suppertime.  No  one  seemed 
disheartened. 

Bro.  Heywood  was  still  with  us.  All  at  once  we 
heard  a  strange  noise  resembling  human  voices  down 
the  road.  Bro.  Heywood  rushed  out  exclaiming,  ''  Here 
comes  our  supper."  The  voices  were  loud  and  in  an 
unknown  tongue.  Bro.  H.  came  back  a  little  frightened 
saying  there  was  something  strange  going  on  down  the 
road.  Several  of  us,  taking  our  arms,  started  in  the 
direction  of  the  noise.  On  getting  nearer  we  recognized 
the  voices.  The  Magraw  party  under  Jesse  Jones  was 
making  another  effort  to  get  through  with  their  coaches  ; 
they  had  got  stuck  in  a  snow  drift  and  the  noise  we 
heard  was  Canadian  Frenchmen  swearing  at  their  mules. 


84  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIA?iS. 

We  helped  them  out  and  guided  them  into  the  fort.  It 
was  a  bitter  cold  night  but  we  had  good  houses  with 
rousing  fires. 

'  After  unhitching  and  turning  out  Jesse  said,  "I  am 
glad  to  get  here."  I  replied,  "  I  am  as  glad  to  see  you." 
''Why  are  you  so  glad  to  see  us?"  he  asked.  I  told 
him  we  had  not  a  mouthful  of  anything  to  eat,  nor  had 
we  tasted  food  that  day.  "  Then  what  are  you  stopping 
here  for?"  I  replied,  "We  were  waiting  for  you  to  bring 
our  supper."  He  laughed  and  said,  "  Well  you  shall 
have  it  if  it  takes  the  last  bite  we  have  got."  He  gave 
to  vour  cook  all  of  his  provisions.  About  ten  o'clock 
twenty-six  hungry  men  sat  down  to  about  as  thankfully 
a  received  supper  as  was  ever  partaken  of  by  mortal 
man. 

In  January  when  this  party  passed  through  to  Platte 
bridge,  I  sent  word  by  them  to  the  mountaineers  there 
that  we  would  pay  a  good  price  for  meat  brought  to  us. 
Two  of  the  best  hunters,  Messrs.  Maxim  and  Plant, 
made  the  attempt  to  get  us  meat,  but  failed,  almost 
starving  themselves  on  the  hunt.  They  never  reached 
our  fort  but  returned  to  their  homes  on  the  Platte. 

When  Jesse  Jones  left  us  going  down  we  had  but 
little  provisions  on  hand.  Maxim  and  Plant's  failure  to 
reach  us  with  food  caused  the  people  at  Platte  bridge  to 
suppose  we  had  all  perished.  Jesse  told  me  he  fully 
expected  to  find  our  skeletons. 

Some  may  ask  why  we  did  not  leave.  There  was 
no  time  during  the  winter  but  what  the  attempt  would 
have  been  certain  death  to  some  of  us.  The  company 
at  no  time  was  strong  enough  to  make  the  trip  to  Platte 
bridge,  neither  did  we  wish  to  abandon  our  trust  that  we 
had  accepted  with  our  eyes  wide  open  to  the  perils 
around  us. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  85 

After  supper  we  found  there  was  scarcely  enough  left 
for  breakfast.  Jesse  asked  what  we  proposed  doing. 
One  of  the  mail  company,  a  Frenchman,  commenced 
talking  with  the  Indian  explaining  our  situation  to  him. 
He  said  their  camp  was  also  out  of  meat  ;  that  they  were 
hungry,  and  that  he  was  out  prospecting  for  game,  as 
there  was  none  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  camp  ;  but 
he  thought  he  could  find  game  next  day  if  some  one 
would  go  with  him  to  protect  him  from  the  Crow 
Indians,  who  were  supposed  to  be  in  the  direction  of  the 
game.  This  seemed  the  only  show,  so  Jesse  decided 
to  "  lay  over  "  and  send  out  his  hunter  with  some  pack 
animals ;  also  ten  of  our  company,  the  stoutest  and  most 
willing.  They,  no  doubt,  would  have  fought  the  whole 
Crow  nation  to  have  protected  our  Indian  friend. 

Late  that  evening  the  Frenchman  and  Indian  came 
into  the  fort  with  their  animals  loaded  with  good  buffalo 
meat.  I  asked  about  the  boys  of  our  company  who 
went  out  on  foot.  The  Frenchman  answered,  "  I  left 
them  about  twenty-five  miles  from  here  roasting  and  eat- 
ing bones  and  entrails;  they  are  all  right."  They  got 
in  next  day,  each  man  loaded  with  meat.  They  were  all 
delighted  with  the  Indian,  telling  how  he  killed  the  buf- 
falo with  his  arrows,  the  Frenchman  shooting  first  and 
wounding  the  animal  and  the  Indian  doing  the  rest. 

These  Indians  of  the  plains  years  back  killed  a 
great  many  buffalo  with  arrows.  They  would  stick  two 
arrows  into  a  buffalo's  heart,  crossing  their  direction  so 
that  as  the  buffalo  ran  these  arrows  would  work  and  cut 
his  heart  almost  in  two.  This  would  soon  bring  the 
poor  brute  down ;  whereas  with  a  single  arrow  in  the 
heart  they  would  run  a  long  distance. 


86  FOKTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Kindness  of  Indians   in    Providing   Food — Express   from  Salt  Lake 
City — Visit  from  an  Indian  Chief — Scanty  Food  Supply. 

THE  mail  company  again  fitted  up  with  packs,  leaving 
their  coaches.  They  took  Brother  Hey  wood  with 
them.  This  time  making  the  trip  successfully.  They  left 
all  the  meat  they  could  spare,  taking  only  scant  rations 
with  them. 

Brother  Heywood,  although  very  weak  in  body, 
manifested  the  spirit  of  a  hero  during  the  whole  time  of 
our  suffering.  I  have  always  remembered  him  with  the 
kindest  of  feelings.  As  he  sometimes  remarks,  "rawhide 
makes  a  strong  tie." 

The  Indian  went  away  saying  he  would  tell  his  peo- 
ple about  us,  and  if  they  could  find  any  meat  they  would 
divide. 

It  did  not  take  long  for  twenty  hungry  men  to  eat 
up  our  supplies.  About  the  4th  of  March  the  last  mor- 
sel had  been  eaten  for  breakfast.  We  went  hunting 
daily,  sometimes  killing  a  little  small  game,  but  nothing 
of  account. 

Our  provisions  were  exhausted  and  we  had  cleaned 
up  everything  before  Jesse  Jones  came  to  our  relief  We 
were  now  in  a  tight  place.  There  was  a  set  of  harness 
and  an  old  pack  saddle  covered  with  rawhide  still  on 
hand,  that  some  of  the  boys  considered  safe  to  depend 
upon  for  a  few  days,  still  we  had  great  hopes  of  getting 
something  better.  Our  faith  had  been  much  strengthened 
by  receiving  the  supplies  mentioned. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  87 

As  usual  we  went  out  to  see  what  we  could  find  in 
the  way  of  game.  After  traveling  through  the  snow  for 
several  miles  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  we  saw  a 
drove  of  mountain  sheep.  They  were  standing,  seem- 
ingly entirely  off  their  guard.  I  was  in  front  and  saw 
the  sheep,  as  I  supposed  before  they  did  me.  We 
dodged  down  out  of  sight.  I  crept  to  a  large  rock,  fully 
expecting  to  get  meat.  When  I  looked  to  get  a  shot  the 
game  was  gone,  I  could  see  it  making  for  the  top  of  the 
mountain.  We  watched  them  for  a  minute  or  two  and 
they  were  soon  too  far  for  us  to  follow.  My  heart  almost 
failed  me,  and  I  could  have  cried  like  a  child,  for  I  knew 
that  nothing  was  in  camp  when  we  left  and  our  comrades 
expected  us  to  bring  something  for  supper. 

We  were  convinced  that  nothing  could  be  obtained 
this  day  by  hunting,  so  we  started  for  home.  After 
traveling  a  few  miles  we  struck  the  road  below  Devil's 
Gate  and  here  we  stopped  to  hold  a  council. 

As  will  be  remembered,  our  instructions  from 
Brother  Brigham  were  never  to  leave  the  fort  with  less 
than  ten  men.  There  never  had  been  a  time  when  we 
had  that  many  men  able  to  stand  very  hard  service. 
Sometimes  I  felt  like  disregarding  counsel  and  going  out 
to  try  to  get  food,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  But  up  to 
this  time  we  had  all  followed  instructions  as  nearly  as 
possible.  Now  here  was  a  trial  for  me.  I  firmly  believed 
I  could  go  on  foot  to  Platte  bridge  and  get  something  to 
save  the  lives  of  my  comrades.  Very  few  of  the  others 
were  able,  but  all  were  willing  to  go  with  me.  I  told 
them  if  counsel  had  to  be  broken  I  would  risk  no  one 
but  myself,  and  would  go  alone.  The  boys  thought  they 
could  live  five  days  before  starving.  So  it  was  arranged 
that  I  should  start  alone  next  morning  for  the  Platte 
bridge.     I  had  now  been  one  day  without  food,  it  would 


SS  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

take  two  more  to  reach  the  bridge,  where  there  were 
traders,  as  the  snow  was  from  eighteen  inches  to  three 
feet  deep.  This  looked  a  little  hard,  but  I  had  fully 
made  up  my  mind  to  try  it. 

On  arriving  in  sight  of  camp  we  saw  a  number  of 
horses ;  we  knew  some  one  had  arrived  but  had  no  idea 
who  it  was.  A  shout  of  joy  rang  out  from  our  crowd 
that  made  the  hills  ring.  All  mankind  were  friends  to  us 
then.  I  often  wonder  why  people  are  enemies.  My 
experience  in  life,  with  a  few  exceptions,  has  been  more 
of  the  friendly  than  warlike  nature.  I  have  been  fed 
and  helped  by  all  classes  of  people,  and  mankind  in  gen- 
eral are  not  so  bad  when  properly  approached. 

The  new  arrivals  proved  to  be  the  first  company  of 
the  Y.  X.  Express,  with  William  Hickman  in  charge. 
This  was  the  first  effort  of  this  firm  to  send  the  mail 
through.  Several  old  acq,uaintances  were  along,  and  of 
course  we  were  rejoiced  to  see  them,  especially  so  when 
we  learned  they  had  a  good  supper  for  us.  Among 
the  party  were  George  Boyd  of  Salt  Lake  City  and 
Joshua  Terry  of  Draperville. 

A  day  or  two  before  their  arrival  Brother  Terry  had 
killed  a  large  buffalo  and  they  packed  the  whole  of  it 
into  our  camp. 

I  remember  about  the  first  thing  I  did  after  shaking 
hands,  was  to  drink  a  pint  of  strong  salty  broth,  where 
some  salt  pork  had  been  boiled. 

When  Hickman's  company  arrived,  some  of  our 
boys  were  getting  the  pack  saddle  soaked  up  ready  for 
cooking  the  hide  covering.  Boyd  always  calls  me  the 
man  that  ate  the  pack  saddle.  But  this  is  slander.  The 
kindness  of  him  and  others  prevented  me  from  eating 
my  part  of  it.     I  think  if  they  had  not  arrived,  probably 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  89 

I  would  have  taken  a  wing  or  leg,  but  don't  think  I  would 
have  eaten  the  whole  of  it.  As  it  was,  the  saddle  was 
allowed  to  dry  up  again,  and  may  be  in  existence  yet 
and  doing  well  so  far  as  I  know. 

In  Hickman's  book  he  says  he  found  us  starving 
with  plenty  of  provisions  in  store  houses,  but  did  not 
dare  to  take  them ;  that  on  his  arrival  he  burst  open  the 
store  houses  and  told  us  to  help  ourselves.  Can  anyone 
believe  such  stuff  ?  If  all  his  book  is  like  this  for  truth, 
one  would  do  well  to  believe  the  reverse.  Hickman  left 
about  the  6th  of  March,  going  on  east. 

Ben  Hampton  and  myself  started  to  go  on  to  Platte 
bridge  with  this  party,  intending  to  get  some  supplies  if 
possible.  Hickman  left  us  two  animals  and  with  one  of 
ours  (the  other  three  had  long  since  been  eaten  by  the 
wolves)  found  nearby  we  felt  ourselves  rich. 

We  had  gone  but  a  few  miles  when  we  met  some 
men  from  the  Platte  bringing  us  some  beef.  They  had 
heard  in  some  way  that  we  were  still  alive.  I  think  the 
Indians  must  have  passed  the  word.  They  could  not 
get  buffalo  meat,  so  had  killed  some  cattle  and  were 
bringing  them  to  us.  They  had  been  four  days  on 
the  road,  tramping  snow  and  working  through  drifts, 
expecting  to  find  us  starving.  I  often  think  of  these 
old  pioneers,  who  were  always  so  ready  to  help  a  fellow- 
man  in  need. 

We  bade  good-by  to  Hickman  and  party  and  re- 
turned to  the  fort  with  the  meat.  We  paid  for  it  in  goods 
from  Brother  Van  Cott's  boxes,  paying  mostly  calico  and 
domestic.  They  charged  us  ten  cents  per  pound,  which 
was  very  cheap  considering. 

With  our  animals  and  meat  we  felt  quite  well  fitted 
out ;  for  we  had  now  become  so  used  to  taking  what  we 


90  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

could  get  thankfully,  that  we  looked  upon  these  two 
mules  left  us  as  sure  food  when  all  else  failed. 

While  Jesse  Jones  was  in  camp,  one  of  his  men 
gave  me  a  small  book  of  words  in  the  Snake  language. 
I  expected  the  Indians  around  and  studied  hard  every 
day.  Soon  they  commenced  coming  in  to  see  us.  There 
were  over  one  hundred  lodges  of  Snakes  and  Bannocks 
came  in  from  the  Wind  river  country  and  camped  about 
fifteen  miles  from  us.  Small  bands  camped  around  us  in 
different  directions.  They  soon  learned  we  were  short 
of  provisions. 

The  first  party  that  brought  meat  to  us  wanted  to 
charge  an  unreasonable  price  for  it.  I  talked  with  them 
quite  a  while  before  they  would  consent  to  sell  it 
cheaper.  They  said  that  they  themselves  were  hungry, 
showing  us  their  bare  arms,  how  lean  they  were.  But  I 
told  them  it  was  not  just  to  take  advantage  of  our  cir- 
cumstances. I  weighed  up  a  dollar's  worth  of  meat  on 
a  pair  of  spring  balances,  marked  the  scales  plainly  and 
told  them  I  would  give  no  more.  They  consented,  and 
we  bought  hundreds  of  pounds  afterwards  without  more 
trouble.  In  buying  we  had  to  weigh  one  dollar's  worth 
at  a  time,  no  matter  how  much  they  sold  us. 

We  exchanged  various  articles  with  them,  many  of 
the  company  trading  shirts,  handkerchiefs  and  such  things 
as  they  could  spare.  We  had  some  coffee,  for  which  the 
Indians  traded  readily.  This  helped  us  out  for  a  short 
season ;  but  game  became  so  scarce  that  this  camp  of 
natives  (several  hundred)  had  to  move  out  or  starve. 
They  came  up  the  first  day  and  pitched  their  lodges 
near  us.  We  had  but  little  provisions  on  hand,  some 
meat  and  a  few  pounds  of  flour  that  we  used  to  thicken 
our  broth  was  all.  We  had  about  lost  our  appetite  for 
bread.    We  were  a  Httle  uneasy  to  have  all  these  hungry 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  9 1 

Indians  come  upon  us  at  once ;  the  greatest  care  had  ta 
be  taken  to  avoid  trouble. 

They  were  not  of  the  best  class,  being  a  party  made 
up  of  Snakes  and  Bannocks,  who  had  left  their  regular 
tribes  and  chiefs  and  joined  together  under  an  ambitious 
young  fellow  named  Tabawantooa.  Washakie,  the  old 
Snake  chief,  called  them  bad  men. 

There  was  one  little  party  under  an  old  petty  chief, 
Toquatah,  who  kept  apart  from  the  main  band.  Fron> 
them  we  had  procured  most  of  our  meat.  Toquatah 
had  informed  us  that  the  main  band  and  his  were  not  on 
the  best  of  terms,  and  that  Tabawantooa  was  ''no  good."^ 
This  naturally  made  us  feel  a  little  uneasy.  We  had 
some  two  hundred  wagon  loads  of  valuable  goods  under 
our  charge,  and  only  twenty  men,  the  greater  portion 
of  them  with  no  frontier  experience. 

The  store  rooms  were  blocked  up  with  logs,  and 
had  been  all  winter. 

By  this  time  I  could  talk  considerable  Snake  and 
many  of  these  Indians  understood  Ute. 

Tabawantooa  and  his  band  came  in  sight  of  our 
quarters  about  noon.  They  were  all  mounted  and  well 
armed.  The  chief  with  many  others  rode  up  in  quite  a 
pompous  style,  no  doubt  expecting  to  be  looked  upon 
with  awe  and  treated  with  great  deference. 

I  had  time  to  get  my  wits  together  before  they  got 
to  our  gate  where  an  armed  guard  was  stationed.  Brother 
Alexander  was  to  be  chief  cook.  Knowing  that  from 
such  as  we  had  we  would  have  to  make  a  great  showing 
of  hospitality,  we  concluded  to  make  up  in  ceremony 
what  was  lacking  in  food.  So  all  the  camp-kettles  and 
coffee-pots  were  filled  and  put  on.  The  one  for  weak 
soup  the  other  for  strong  coffee.  We  had  plenty  of  the 
latter  on  hand. 


92  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

The  company  were  instructed  to  go  into  their  rooms, 
shut  the  doors,  keep  quiet,  and  not  to  show  themselves 
unless  ordered  to  do  so.  Brother  Hampton  was  to  be 
general  roust-a-bout,  ready  for  any  emergency ;  I  was  to 
meet  these  Indians  outside  and  invite  them  in  the 
gate,  as  we  knew  the  chief  and  grandees  of  the  band 
would  expect  to  be  entertained. 

Soon  the  chief  with  some  fifty  others  rode  up  to  the 
fort,  while  hundreds  more  passed  on  a  short  distance 
and  commenced  to  put  up  their  lodges.  I  met  the  chief, 
shook  hands,  and  asked  him  to  get  down  and  come  in. 
He  wanted  to  know  if  they  could  not  ride  inside.  I  told 
him  no,  and  explained  to  him  that  we  had  a  lot  of  men 
in  the  fort  who  were  afraid  of  Indians  ;  that  they  had  gone 
into  their  houses  and  shut  the  doors ;  but  the  door  of 
my  house  was  open  for  them,  but  that  these  men,  who 
were  afraid,  should  not  be  frightened  ;  they  must  leave 
their  horses  and  arms  outside  the  fort. 

This  the  chief  agreed  to  do  and  appointed  a  man  to 
see  that  no  one  came  in  with  arms.  Soon  my  room  was 
full.  I  explained  to  the  chief  that  we  had  but  little  to 
eat  and  could  not  entertain  many ;  but  half  we  had  they 
were  welcome  to.  I  talked  and  acted  as  though  we  were 
glad  to  see  them,  still  I,  with  all  my  friendship  for  Indians, 
would  have  been  willing  for  this  band  to  have  taken 
another  road. 

Brother  Alexander  soon  had  plenty  of  weak  soup 
and  strong  coffee  ready;  cups  were  filled  and  the  feast 
commenced.  The  chief  sent  word  for  those  outside  to 
go  on  to  camp,  probably  seeing  his  rations  would  be 
short  if  many  more  came  in. 

Brother  Hampton  kept  his  eye  on  things  in  general 
and  would  come  in  and  report  from  time  to  time.  All 
except  one  respected  our  arrangements.      Indians,  like 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  93 

white  men,  have  their  bullies.  One  fellow  in  spite  of 
the  guards  rode  into  fort  armed.  Brother  Hampton 
took  his  horse  by  the  bit,  and  guided  him  back  out  of 
the  gate.      He   was   quite  saucy  but  went  out  all  right. 

We  were  asked  how  many  men  were  in  the  houses. 
I  told  them  shouts  (great  many).  They  then  wanted  to 
know  if  the  men  had  guns.  We  told  them  ''lots,"  which 
was  a  fact  as  there  were  more  guns  than  men. 

Indians,  when  hungry  relish  anything  that  tightens 
their  belts,  so  our  friends  filled  and  emptied  their  cups 
many  times.  Soon  all  who  had  remained  were  satisfied, 
bade  us  good-by,  mounted  their  horses  and  started  to 
their  camp,  the  chief  inviting  us  to  go  up  and  take  supper 
with  him.  Went  up  late  in  the  day.  Some  coffee  had 
been  given  the  chief  and  at  supper  we  feasted  on  poor 
antelope  meat  and  coffee.  We  were  told  that  but  one 
antelope  had  been  killed  that  day  and  the  chief  had  been 
presented  with  it. 

The  whole  camp  were  about  out  of  food  except 
thistle  roots.  These  were  not  very  plentiful,  as  we  had 
already  dug  and  eaten  the  most  that  could  be  found  for 
miles  around  our  quarters. 

These  natives  moved  on  next  morning.  Toquatah's 
band  being  still  in  the  rear.  In  a  day  or  two  the  last 
band  came  along  and  camped  near  us.  We  were  glad 
to  see  them  and  wanted  them  to  remain  near  us,  but 
they  were  afraid  of  the  Crow  Indians  and  desired  to 
keep  in  the  vicinity  of  the  larger  band  for  protection 
against  their  common  enemy. 

We  explained  to  them  our  destitute  condition, 
telling  them  that  we  were  again  about  out  of  provisions, 
and  would  be  sorry  to  have  them  leave,  for  while  they 
were  near  they  had  never  let  us  suffer  for  meat. 

Next  morning  the  old  chief  said  he  would  go   out 


•94  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

twelve  miles  to  a  gap  in  the  mountains  and  camp,  and 
if  he  could  find  any  game  he  would  let  us  have  some 
dried  meat  he  had  reserved. 

We  waited  a  day  and  then  went  to  see  if  our  friends 
were  prospered.  Nothing  had  been  found.  Ten  of  us 
stayed  all  night  with  the  Indians  and  we  barely  got 
enough  for  supper  and  breakfast.  The  chief  told  us  to 
go  back  home  ;  he  would  move  on  a  little  farther  ;  if  he 
found  anything  he  would  send  it  to  us.  His  spirit 
towards  us  was  something  like  a  mother's  with  a  lot  of 
hungry  children. 

Now  some  might  ask  why  we  did  not  do  our  own 
hunting  and  not  depend  on  the  Indians.  An  Indian  will 
manage  to  kill  game  where  it  is  so  scarce  and  wild  that 
l>ut  few  white  men  would  even  see  it.  We  were  much 
safer  to  depend  upon  the  Indians  as  long  as  they  were 
around  in  the  country.  Again,  they  considered  it  their 
business  to  hunt,  and  if  we  had  made  the  attempt  it 
would  have  been  resented  by  them. 

We  went  home  feeling  a  little  sad.  We  had  our 
animals,  but  did  not  wish  to  kill  them  ;  still  we  felt  safe 
as  long  as  mule  flesh  was  on  hand.  To  our  joy,  next 
day  some  Indians  came  from  their  camp,  bringing  us 
some  three  hundred  pounds  of  buflalo  meat  and  inform- 
ing us  that  they  had  seen  signs  of  game  ;  and  if  we 
would  come  to  them  the  next  morning,  they  might  let 
us  have  some  more. 

Brother  Hampton  and  I  saddled  up  taking  our 
extra  animal,  a  large  mule,  and  started  for  our  friends. 
The  weather  was  still  cold,  but  the  snow  was  mostly 
gone  from  the  lowlands,  it  being  now  near  the  first  of 
April.  When  we  arrived  at  their  camp  the  Indians  were 
just  starting  out  to  move  a  few  miles  further  towards 
where  the  signs  of  buffalo  had  been  seen.     Brother  H. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  95 

and  I  rode  along  with  them,  chatting  with  the  old  chief. 
We  had  taken  a  few  things  with  us  to  trade  for  the  meat. 
We  camped  in  the  afternoon  some  thirty  miles  from 
home.  The  old  chief  called  out  and  soon  the  squaws 
commen4:ed  bringing  in  a  few  pounds  each  of  good  dried 
meat.  We  traded  for  about  three  hundred  pounds — all 
our  mule  could  pack  and  about  all  the  Indians  could 
spare.  This,  of  course,  was  all  we  could  expect,  but  the 
old  chief  said  maybe  they  could  do  more  for  us  in  the 
morning. 

I  think  Brother  Hampton  and  I  really  enjoyed  our- 
selves that  night.  We  slept  in  a  lodge,  ate  meat,  and 
drank  coffee.  The  squaws'  dirt,  or  dogs  sticking  their 
noses  into  the  meat  dishes,  made  no  difference  to  us  ;  or 
If  it  did  we  ate  all  the  same. 

Next  morning  after  breakfast,  we  saddled  up,  pack- 
ing our  dried  meat  on  the  mule.  As  we  were  about 
ready  to  start  there  was  quite  a  commotion  in  camp. 
We  thought  at  first  the  Crow  Indians  were  upon  us,  but 
the  old  chief,  looking  in  an  easterly  direction  said, 
*Tt  is  some  of  the  young  men  driving  a  buffalo.  Now 
good-by..  You  go  on  your  road  (our  track  was  to  the 
north)  and  you  will  find  some  more  meat  ready  for  you 
soon." 

We  started  and  had  gone  but  a  short  distance, 
probably  three  miles,  when  we  found  the  bufTalo  that  was 
being  chased  had  been  run  into  our  trail,  killed  and 
made  ready  to  deliver  to  us.  .We  gave  them  some  few 
things  we  had  left  and  they  loaded  both  of  our  saddle 
animals.  This  left  us  nearly  thirty  miles  to  go  afoot. 
We  did  not  mind  this  on  the  start,  but  did  before  we  got 
liome. 


96  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

My  Severe  Toil  in  Getting  to  Camp — Three  Stray  Cattle  Come  to  the 
Fort — The  Second  Company  of  the  Y.  X.  Express  Passes  us — 
Our  Hunt  for  the  Cattle — Two  Days'  Travel  Without  Food— Our 
Safe  Return  to  Camp. 

I  HAD  been  wearing  moccasins  all  winter,  had  done  a 
great  deal  of  walking  and  had  felt  well  and  strong ; 
but  the  winter  had  commenced  to  break  and  there  was 
mud  and  wet  snow  to  encounter  on  our  trip.  Someone 
had  induced  me  to  put  on  a  pair  of  heavy,  stiff-soled 
English  shoes.  About  sundown  I  gave  out;  got  so 
lame  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  wear  the  shoes  and 
travel.  We  had  about  ten  miles  to  go  yet,  and  no 
trail,  as  the  Indian  trail  was  much  longer  than  to  cross 
directly  over  the  country,  and  we  wished  to  take  the 
shortest  cut.  Moreover  there  was  still  a  few  inches  of 
snow  on  the  ground  part  of  the  way  on  the  most  direct 
route.  We  were  bent  on  getting  to  camp  that  night,  if  pos- 
sible, so  determined  to  keep  going.  I  was  compelled  to  pull 
off  my  "stoggas"  and  go  in  my  stocking  feet.  This  did 
very  well  till  the  snow  gave  out,  which  it  did  as  we  got 
on  to  lower  country.  My  socks  soon  failed  then,  and 
the  ground  commenced  to  freeze  hard.  Traveling 
became  slightly  unpleasant  to  me.  I  put  on  the  shoes 
again,  but  could  not  possibly  walk ;  it  was  as  though  my 
shin  bones  were  being  broken  at  every  step.  (Some  may 
wonder  why  my  companion  did  not  change  his  foot  gear 
with  me.  The  reason  was  he  wore  a  number  six  shoe, 
and  I  could  squeeze  on  a  number  ten.  Will  that  do?) 
So  I  determined  to  go  bare-footed.  It  now  became  really 
unpleasant,  for  the  country  was    spotted   with   prickly 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  97 

pears  (thorny  cactus).  When  I  placed  my  number  ten 
foot,  pressed  down  by  my  175-pound  body,  on  these 
desert  ornaments,  they  had  a  piercing  effect,  often  caus- 
ing me  to  halt.  Several  times  it  hurt  so  badly  that  I 
dropped,  desiring  to  take  a  seat  so  that  I  could  pull  the 
thorns  out  of  my  feet,  but  on  striking  the  ground  I  had  a 
sudden  desire  to  rise,  as  the  cactus  formed  the  only 
place  to  sit.  This  was  really  amusing.  Still,  I  soon  had 
enough  of  this  fun  and  commenced  to  figure  how  to 
avoid  having  any  more  of  it.  The  horses  dreaded  the 
cactus,  and  if  left  to  pick  the  road  would  avoid  them ;  so 
we  allowed  them  to  go  ahead.  I  carefully  watched  their 
tracks  and  followed  them,  getting  along  much  better 
after  this. 

About  midnight  we  got  in,  my  feet  a  little  the  worse 
for  wear ;  but  so  happy  were  we  with  our  success  that 
my  feet  soon  got  well. 

Another  blessing  had  befallen  the  company  while 
we  were  gone.  Three  large  work  oxen,  one  wearing  a 
big  bell,  had  come  into  camp.  These  cattle  had  traveled 
nearly  one  hundred  miles  from  where  they  had  been  lost  ; 
they  were  in  fair  order.  We  supposed  the  reason  why 
the  wolves  had  not  killed  them  was  that  the  noise  of  the 
bell  scared  them  away. 

With  the  meat  on  hand  and  these  cattle  we  felt 
pretty  safe  for  the  balance  of  the  season.  We  had  hopes 
of  keeping  a  yoke  of  the  cattle  to  haul  wood  with,  this 
having  been  done  all  winter  with  a  light  wagon,  ten  men 
for  team,  or  in  hand-carts.  The  ice  was  melted  on  the 
river  and  in  going  for  wood  it  had  to  be  waded.  This 
was  hard  on  the  boys,  and  we  were  very  grateful  for  the 
cattle. 

About  this  time  the  second  company  of  the  Y.  X. 
express,   under  Jet  Stoddard,  passed  down.     They   had 


98  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

but  little  to  Spare  us,  but  we  were  now  out  of  danger. 
We  got  a  little  flour,  salt  and  bacon. 

The  word  was  that  the  next  company  would  bring 
us  flour.  The  most  of  us  had  got  so  we  cared  but  little 
for  bread  if  we  could  have  plenty  of  meat.  Our  cattle 
were  our  pets  now.  We  hauled  up  a  lot  of  wood.  The 
grass  being  quite  good  off  toward  the  east,  the  cattle 
were  taken  out  every  day.  At  night  someone  went  and 
brought  them  in  and  corraled  them.  Our  horses  were 
hoppled  in  sight  of  camp,  where  they  ran  day  and  night. 

One  evening  the  boys  who  went  for  the  oxen  came 
in  rather  late  without  them,  saying  that  they  could  not 
hear  the  bell.  We  supposed  they  had  laid  down  for  the 
night ;  still,  we  were  anxious,  as  our  meat  was  about  out 
and  we  expected  to  soon  butcher  the  fattest  of  them. 

Early  next  morning  Brother  Hampton  and  I  saddled 
up  and  started  out  before  breakfast  to  hunt  the  cattle, 
not  expecting  to  be  gone  more  than  an  hour.  We  soon 
struck  their  trail  going  east,  most  of  the  time  showing 
they  were  on  the  move,  not  often  feeding.  At  sundown 
we  were  about  thirty  miles  from  camp,  still  trailing  and 
tolerably  hungry ;  but  that  trail  could  not  be  left.  We 
followed  on,  the  tracks  running  almost  parallel  with  the 
road  but  gradually  nearing  it.  It  now  became  too  dark 
to  see  the  trail. 

We  were  continually  expecting  to  hear  the  bell,  but 
no  bell  sounded.  We  continued  in  the  same  direction 
until  we  reached  the  main  road.  After  following  it  a 
short  distance  Brother  Hampton  dismounted  and  felt  for 
tracks.  He  soon  decided  that  the  cattle  were  now  on 
the  road  as  he  could  feel  the  tracks  where  the  ground 
had  been  lately  disturbed,  the  road  being  dry  and  soft 
in  places.  Thus  we  continued  to  travel  for  some  four  or 
five  miles  feeling  for  tracks.      At  length  we  came  to  a 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  99 

gulch  crossing  the  road,  several  feet  deep  and  full  of 
snow.  We  could  see  where  the  cattle  had  crossed  as 
the  moon  was  now  up  and  we  could  trail  quite  well ;  but 
on  attempting  to  cross  the  drift,  we  sank  down.  At  this 
season  of  the  year  these  snow-drifts  freeze  in  the  night 
time,  thawing  out  in  the  afternoon  and  gradually  melting 
away  so  that  from  noon  until  after  midnight  it  is  impos- 
sible for  a  horse  to  cross  them ;  men  often  crossing  on 
hands  and  knees,  or  if  the  snow  is  quite  soft  lying  down 
and  rolling  across.  This  we  could  have  done  but  our 
horses  did  not  feel  as  anxious  as  we  did  to  go  on ;  so 
when  we  proposed  to  them  to  roll  across  the  drift,  they 
pretended  not  to  understand  us. 

We  followed  up  the  drift  for  quite  a  distance,  but  it 
remained  the  same  white  streak  of  snow  as  far  as  we 
could  see  by  moonlight,  so  we  concluded  to  turn  in  until 
morning  when  the  snow  would  be  hardened.  It  was  now 
getting  quite  chilly,  we  had  eaten  nothing  all  day,  all  the 
bedding  we  had  was  a  couple  of  small  saddle  blankets, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  make  a  fire  with  but  a  little 
green  sagebrush.  But  if  there  had  been  fuel  we  would 
have  been  afraid  to  light  a  fire  as  the  Crow  Indians  were 
in  the  country  and  might  steal  our  horses. 

We  went  to  "ground"  but  did  not  sleep  much.  It 
soon  became  so  cold  that  we  almost  froze  to  death. 
When  we  thought  the  snow  was  hard  enough  we  got  up, 
but  were  so  chilled  we  could  not  saddle  our  horses.  We 
were  almost  lifeless,  and  commenced  stirring  about  to 
bring  life  back.  We  commenced  bumping  against  each 
other,  sometimes  knocking  one  another  down.  We  got 
to  laughing  at  the  ridiculousness  of  our  actions,  more  life 
returned,  our  teeth  began  chattering  and  our  bodies 
shaking,  but  we  kept  up  this  jostling  each  other  until  we 
started  circulation  and  were  able  to  saddle  up  and  go  on. 


ICX)  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

It  was  daylight  before  we  got  thawed  out.  We  walked 
until  we  got  well  warmed  up  the  trail  following  right  on 
the  road. 

About  ten  o'clock  a.  m.  we  found  the  cattle.  They 
had  finally  turned  off  the  road  to  feed.  We  were  now 
about  forty-five  miles  from  home.  The  first  thing  I  pro- 
posed after  finding  the  cattle  was  to  cut  their  tails  off, 
tie  a  string  around  the  stubs  to  keep  them  from  bleed- 
ing, roast  the  tails  and  eat  them,  for  I  felt  wolfish.  Ben 
objected,  saying  it  might  weaken  the  cattle  and  that  he 
believed  we  could  stand  it  back  home ;  that  the  cattle 
were  good  travelers  and  may  be  we  could  reach  the  fort 
by  midnight.  Our  horses  (or  rather,  horse  and  mule. 
As  I  will  soon  have  to  deal  a  little  with  a  mule  it  will  not 
do  to  call  him  a  horse  now)  were  all  right,  having  been 
on  good  feed  the  night  before.  The  cattle,  on  being 
turned  back,  took  the  road  in  good  shape,  starting  on  a 
trot. 

We  were  anxious  to  get  back  and  cross  the  snow- 
drift before  it  softened  up.  This  we  succeeded  in  doing, 
and  continued  traveling  until  after  noon  before  "bating." 
We  had  more  sympathy  for  ourselves  than  for  our  ani- 
mals, for  we  were  getting  a  little  hungry  and  dreaded 
the  thought  of  having  to  "go  to  ground  "  again.  So  we 
kept  up  our  speed.  Finally  Ben's  mule  began  to 
weaken.  We  had  considerable  trouble  to  get  it  along, 
but  by  one  leading  and  the  other  walking  and  whipping 
we  got  to  Independence  Rock,  where  there  were  three 
or  four  men  camped  in  some  old  houses.  This  was 
about  six  miles  from  our  fort.  Here  we  had  a  trial  I 
think  few  men  would  have  stood.  As  we  rode  up  they 
had  a  good  fire  burning,  a  nice  supper  cooked  and  were 
just  ready  to  commence  eating. 

They  had  stayed  the  night  before  at  our  camp  where 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  lOI 

they4iad  arrived  destitute  and  out  of  provisions.  Brother 
Alexander  had  told  them  about  us.  Our  company  was 
very  anxious  about  us.  They  had  given  these  poor  fel- 
lows what  provisions  they  could  spare,  enough  to  last 
them  to  Platte  bridge  provided  they  made  the  trip  in  rea- 
sonable time.  One  of  the  party  had  frozen  his  feet  and 
was  suffering  terribly.  We  soon  learned  their  condition, 
but  they  insisted  on  us  eating  supper.  We  thought  of 
the  poor  lame  fellow  getting  out  of  food ;  we  were  within 
six  miles  of  home  so  we  pretended  that  we  were  not 
very  hungry,  and  advised  them  to  be  careful  of  what 
they  had  and  we  would  go  on  home.  The  smell  of  the 
food  to  us  was  like  piercing  our  stomachs  with  a  dagger. 
It  was  really  hard  to  refuse  taking  a  few  bites,  but  we 
did. 

When  we  had  got  about  half  way  home  I  went 
ahead  with  the  cattle,  Ben  driving  the  tired  mule.  I 
wished  to  get  in  and  have  supper  ready  by  the  time  my 
comrade  arrived,  which  I  did  not  suppose  would  be  over 
one  half  hour.  On  arriving  at  the  fort,  most  of  the 
company  were  up  waiting  in  suspense  our  arrival. 

Brother  Alexander  had  a  camp  kettle  full  of  meat 
and  soup  with  dumplings  ready.  It  was  rations  for 
seven  men.  He  had  kept  it  warm  all  day,  and  com- 
menced to  dish  some  up  for  me,  but  I  told  him  that  I 
would  not  eat  a  bite  until  Ben  came.  It  was  more  than 
an  hour  before  he  arrived,  the  give-out  mule  having 
broken  loose  and  ran  away  from  him  and  he  had  been 
following  it.  Finally  he  arrived,  bringing  the  mule  and 
feeling  very  much  like  beefing  it  when  he  got  home. 

All  now  was  ready  for  our  supper.  We  sat  down 
on  some  wolf  skins  before  the  fire,  the  camp-kettle  in 
reach,  and  commenced  to  eat,  but  not  hurriedly.  Before 
daylight  we  had  emptied  the   kettle.     We   relished  this 


I02  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

feast  fully  and  did  not  suffer  any  inconvenience.  Both 
of  us  were  well  and  feeling  first  rate  next  day  after  hav- 
ing a  good  sleep.  As  the  cattle  were  so  much  bother  we 
concluded  to  kill  them. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


Pulling  Sticks — "Rawhide  Against  Corn" — Our  Buffalo  Hunt — 
Dissatisfaction  at  the  Food  Rations — Permission  Given  to  eat 
All  that  was  Wanted — Ben  Hampton's  Prophecy — Its  Fulfillment 
— A  Relief  Party  Arrives — Tom  Williams'  Party  of  Apostates 
— He  Demands   Goods  Under  our  Care  but  does  not  get  Them. 

ABOUT  this  time  another  Y.  X.  company,  under  Por- 
ter Rockwell  and  John  Murdock,  arrived  going 
east.  They  gave  us  a  little  flour  and  other  provisions ; 
they  also  brought  us  letters  telling  us  when  the  relief 
train  would  arrive.  With  the  three  head  of  cattle  and 
what  this  company  furnished  us,  we  felt  safe  for  supplies 
until  time  for  the  relief  trains. 

Here  I  will  give  an  account  of  a  little  personal  mat- 
ter that  may  seem  like  boasting,  but  I  do  not  intend  it  so. 
This  company  stayed  with  us  two  nights.  They  were 
picked  men,  thirty  in  number,  able-bodied,  tough  boys. 
On  hearing  of  our  sufferings  many  remarks  were  made 
showing  deep  sympathy  for  us. 

At  this  time  we  were  well  recruited,  having  had 
plenty  of  meat  for  some  time  but  scarcely  any  flour  for 
some  five  months.  Bread  we  had  hardly  tasted.  In 
fact,  the  first  biscuit  I  got  almost  choked  me,  I  had 
entirely  lost  my  appetite  for  it. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  IO3 

The  morning  the  Y.  X.  company  were  getting  ready 
to  start  on,  a  young  man,  Mr.  Eldredge^  who  was  going 
down  as  a  passenger,  expressed  much  indignation,  say- 
ing that  there  could  be  no  excuse  for  leaving  men  to 
suffer  as  we  had.  I  did  not  like  to  hear  this  said,  for  I 
knew  there  were  justifiable  reasons  for  leaving  us  to  take 
care  of  the  goods.  I  also  knew  brothers  Grant  and 
Burton  would  have  sent  us  help  if  they  could.  It  was 
expected  that  the  cattle  left  would  have  been  better  beef 
than  they  turned  out  to  be. 

I  had  neither  time  nor  disposition  to  explain  all 
these  things,  so  to  stop  the  talk  that  I  had  got  a  little 
tired  of  hearing,  I  said  to  Mr.  Eldredge,  "We  do  not 
need  your  sympathy;  we  are  all  right  now ;  none  of  us 
have  died,  and  I  am  a  better  man  than  any  of  your  com- 
pany, picked  men  as  you  are." 

''How  do  you  propose  to  prove  this,  Mr.  Jones? 
Will  you  pull  sticks  with  our  best  man?  I  will  not  allow 
you  rawhide-£ed  fellows  to  banter  the  corn-fed  boys  that 
way." 

I  was  a  little  fearful  that  I  was  "sold,"  for  I  knew 
there  were  some  stout  men  in  their  cornpany ;  but  as  the 
banter  was  made,  to  back  out  would  be  worse  than  to 
get  beat,  so  I  said,  "Bring  him  on;  I  will  hoist  him." 

Mr.  Eldredge  came  back  with  John  Murdock,  who 
was  smiling.  Now  I  really  wished  I  had  not  made  the 
banter,  for  John  was  an  old  friend  who  was  hard  to  pull 
up. 

A  ring  was  formed,  both  companies  helping  to  form 
a  circle.  "Rawhide  against  corn"  was  the  cry.  We  sat 
down  and  got  an  even  start.  It  was  a  hard  pull,  but 
"Rawhide"  won,  and  we  got  no  more  pity  from  that 
company. 

Making  a  close  estimate  of  the  food  we  now  had, 


I04  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

we  found  it  would  last  us  till  the  promised  provisions 
could  arrive,  which  would  be  about  the  ist  of  May. 

There  were  twenty  of  us  now.  We  quit  ration- 
ing and  ate  all  we  wanted.  As  may  be  imagined,  some 
big  eating  was  done.  Now  the  food  soon  began  to 
diminish  very  fast.  At  this  time  we  could  go  to  the 
Platte  bridge  and  get  provisions,  but  on  calling  the  com- 
pany together  all  hands  agreed  to  make  the  meat  last  by 
again  rationing.  We  could  do  this  quite  easily,  allowing 
one  and  a  half  pounds  per  day.  We  lived  a  few  days 
on  these  rations  and  all  seemed  content. 

One  day  Brother  Hampton  and  I  were  out  and  on 
returning  to  the  fort  we  learned  that  a  small  herd  of  buf- 
falo had  been  seen  passing  within  three  miles  of  the  fort. 
All  hands  were  excited,  as  they  were  the  first  seen  for  a 
long  time.  The  boys  were  all  sure  that  Ben  and  I  could 
get  meat  and  we  could  again  go  to  feasting.  We  started 
out  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  buffalo  feeding.  We 
dismounted  and  crept  close  to  them,  but  just  as  we  got 
in  shooting  distance  it  commenced  to  snow  so  hard  that 
we  could  not  see  to  shoot  with  any  certainty.  We  sat 
there  trying  to  get  sight  of  a  buffalo  until  our  fingers 
were  too  much  benumbed  to  hold  our  guns.  I  had 
brought  an  extra  gun  in  anticipation  of  having  to  chase 
the  buffalo  on  horseback.  We  concluded  to  blaze  away, 
hit  or  miss,  and  then  take  to  our  horses  and  have  a  run- 
ning shot.  At  the  crack  of  our  guns  all  the  herd  ran 
away.     We  mounted  and  started  in  pursuit. 

The  horse  I  was  riding  could  easily  outrun  the  buf- 
falo, but  for  the  life  of  me  I  could  not  get  him  up  along 
side  of  one.  When  I  would  follow  straight  behind  he 
would  get  within  about  twenty-five  yards,  but  when  I 
would  try  to  get  him  up  nearer  he  would  bolt  and  run  off 
to  one  side.     This  game  we  kept  up   for  some  time. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  IO5 

Occasionally  the  buffalo  would  get  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  away  from  me,  when  the  horse  would  start  in  after 
them  and  soon  run  up  to  about  the  same  distance,  then 
he  would  bolt  again.  I  felt  almost  like  blowing  his  brains 
out.  I  finally  commenced  shooting  at  the  buffalo,  but  to 
no  purpose.  As  none  were  killed  we  had  to  give  up  the 
chase  and  go  home  without  meat,  feeling  quite  cha- 
grined. 

We  had  not  been  in  camp  long  until  I  was  informed 
that  there  was  a  great  dissatisfaction  being  manifested 
by  some  of  the  company  about  the  rations.  I  im- 
mediately called  the  company  together  to  see  what  was 
the  trouble.  Several  expressed  themselves  quite  freely, 
finding  fault  for  being  rationed  when  provisions  could 
now  be  had,  and  saying  that  they  thought  I  ought  to  go 
and  get  something  to  eat  and  not  have  them  suffer  any 
more.  This  grieved  me  very  much  as  I  had  a  kindly 
feeling  towards  all  the  company.  We  had  suffered  every- 
thing that  men  could  suffer  and  live.  We  had  often  been 
on  the  point  of  starvation.  Sometimes  becoming  so 
weak  that  we  could  scarcely  get  our  firewood,  having  to 
go  some  distance  to  the  mountain  for  it.  We  were  now 
all  in  good  health  and  had,  as  I  understood,  willingly 
agreed  to  be  rationed  for  a  few  days,  until  relief  came 
from  Salt  Lake  City.  I  did  not  care  so  much  for  the 
trouble  of  going  for  provisions,  but  I  felt  a  great  deal  of 
pride  in  the  grit  of  the  company  and  this  was  a  sore 
disappointment  for  me,  for  no  one  had  just  reason  to 
find  fault.  All  I  said  was,  ''  Well,  brethren,  I  will  go  and 
get  you  all  you  want.  Now  pitch  in  and  eat  your  fill.  I 
will  have  more  by  the  time  you  eat  up  what  is  on  hand." 

Brother  Hampton  felt  very  indignant  at  the  fault- 
finders. He  told  them  that  they  would  soon  be  ashamed 
of  themselves  ;  spoke  of  the  hardships  we  had  endured 


I06  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

uncomplainingly,  and  of  the  hard  labors  in  hunting,  and 
many  efforts  made  to  keep  alive.  Now  when  we  were 
about  through  and  no  one  suffering,  some  had  shown 
their  true  colors,  and  marred  their  credit  for  being  true 
men.  Ben  got  warm  and  finally  said,  ''  You  will  regret 
this.  Instead  of  having  to  wait  twelve  days  there  will  be 
plenty  of  provisions  here  inside  of  twelve  hours,  and  then 
you  will  wish  you  had  kept  still."  At  this  he  ceased 
talking,  sat  down  and  turned  to  me  saying  a  little  ex- 
citedly, ''  What  do  think  ?     Will  it  come  ?  " 

I  said  "  Yes,"  for  I  felt  the  prophecy  would  be  fulfilled. 
Sure  enough  that  same  evening  twenty  men  arrived  at 
our  camp  bringing  nearly  a  ton  of  flour  and  other 
provisions. 

This  company  had  been  sent  to  strengthen  our  post. 
They  informed  us  that  there  was  a  large  company  of 
apostates  on  the  road  led  by  Tom  S.  Williams.  Before 
leaving  Salt  Lake  some  of  this  company  had  made 
threats  that  indicated  danger  to  us. 

The  circumstances  leading  to  the  threats  were  these. 
The  goods  we  were  guarding  belonged  to  the  last 
season's  emigrants.  The  wagon  companies  freighting 
them  through  agreed  to  deliver  them  in  Salt  Lake  City. 
These  goods  were  to  be  taken  in  and  delivered  as  by 
contract.  Some  of  the  owners  had  become  dissatisfied 
with  **  Mormonism  "  and  were  going  back  to  the  States. 
As  their  goods  had  not  arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City,  they 
demanded  that  they  should  be  delivered  at  Devil's  Gate. 
Quite  a  number  settled  their  freight  bills  and  brought 
orders  for  their  goods  and  received  them  all  right. 
Others  refused  to  settle,  but  threatened  that  if  the  goods 
were  not  given  up  they  would  take  them  by  force.  Tom 
Williams'  company  was  composed  largely  of  this  class 
and  their  backers.      They  numbered  about  fifty  men. 


FORTY   YEARS   AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I07 

The  twenty  men  coming  to  our  relief  were  sent  under 
the  emergency.  This  is  the  way  Brother  Hampton's 
prophecy  came  to  be  fulfilled. 

Tom  Williams  knew  nothing  of  this  company,  as 
they  had  slipped  out  and  got  ahead  of  him  and  arrived 
long  enough  before  fhim  for  us  to  get  everything  ready. 
We  now  had  forty  men  well  armed,  the  twenty  sent  us 
being  picked  for  the  occasion.  As  I  cannot  remember 
all  their  names  I  will  simply  say  for  the  purpose  they 
were  all  first-class  men.  Our  old  company  were  reliable. 
As  Ben  had  said  they  would  be,  they  were  a  little 
ashamed,  but  nothing  farther  was  said,  and  the  boys 
showed  their  repentance  by  doing  their  duties  now. 

Our  instructions  were  to  deliver  no  goods  to  any- 
one unless  they  presented  an  order  from  the  right  parties. 

When  Williams'  company  arrived  they  made  camp 
near  our  fort.  Most  of  our  men  were  kept  out  of  sight. 
There  were  rooms  each  side  of  the  front  door,  where  we 
had  a  guard  placed. 

A  person  that  claimed  a  lot  of  goods  had  come  on 
the  evening  before  and  presented  an  order  that  was  not 
genuine.  He  had  reported  to  his  friends  our  refusing  to 
let  him  have  his  goods.  Soon  Williams  and  a  few 
others  came  up  and  said  if  we  did  not  give  up  the  goods 
that  they  would  tear  down  the  fort  or  have  them.  Wil- 
liams was  well  known  to  most  of  us  ;  by  marriage  he 
was  my  wife's  uncle.  I  informed  him  that  we  intended  to 
obey  instructions.  He  raved  and  threatened  consider- 
able, but  to  no  purpose.  He  started  to  his  camp  with 
the  avowed  intention  of  returning  and  taking  the  goods. 

I  now  got  my  company  ready  for  fight  if  necessary 
We  had  prepared  port  holes  in  front  of  the  fort  and  here 
I  stationed  some  of  the  best  shots. 

Brothers  Hampton  and  Alexander  took  charge  of  our 


I08  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

company.  The  company  that  came  to  strengthen  us 
working  together  under  their  leader.  Soon  we  saw  Tom 
WilHams  approaching  with  his  backers.  As  he  supposed 
double  our  number,  but  in  reality  near  the  same.  I  did 
not  wish  blood  shed,  and  fully  believed  that  Tom  was 
playing  a  ''bluff,"  so  concluded  to  try  and  beat  him  at 
the  game.  I  instructed  some  of  the  best  marksmen  what 
to  do  in  case  shooting  had  to  be  done. 

As  Williams  approached  I  went  out  alone  and  stood 
about  thirty  yards  from  the  fort,  having  only  my  pistol. 
As  the  company  came,  up  near  me  I  placed  my  hand  on 
my  pistol  and  told  them  to  halt.  They  halted  but  com- 
menced to  threaten  and  abuse  the  whole  fraternity 
sparing  none.  I  explained  our  situation,  being  simply 
custodians  of  the  goods,  not  knowing  whose  they  were ; 
but  only  knew  who  left  us  there,  and  we  could  not 
consistently  recognize  any  orders  except  from  those 
under  whose  instructions  we  were  acting.  My  reason- 
ing had  no  effect  whatever,  but  Tom  called  on  his  crowd 
to  say  if  the  goods  should  be  taken.  The  vote  was 
to  take  them. 

Now  that  no  one  may  suppose  that  I  wish  to  appear 
brave,  I  will  say  that  the  way  I  had  my  men  placed,  and 
the  instructions  given,  if  a  weapon  had  been  drawn  on 
me,  half  Williams'  company  would  have  been  shot  dead 
before  I  could  have  been  harmed. 

I  said  to  Williams  just  hold  on  one  minute  and  hear 
what  I  have  to  say:  "We  have  been  here  all  winter  eating 
poor  beef  and  raw  hide  to  take  care  of  these  goods. 
We  have  had  but  little  fun,  and  would  just  as  soon  have 
some  now  as  not  ;  in  fact  would  like  a  little  row.  If  you 
think  you  can  take  the  fort  just  try  it.  But  I  don't  think 
you  can  take  me  to  commence  with  ;  and  the  first  one 
that  offers  any  violence  to  me  is  a  dead  man.     Now  I 


FORTY     YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  IO9 

dare  you  to  go  past  me  towards  the  fort."  This  seemed 
to  take  them  back.  I  meant  what  I  said,  and  some  of 
them  knew  my  disposition,  which  in  those  days,  was  not 
the  most  Christian-Hke  when  a  white  man  was  before  me 
as  an  enemy. 

After  looking  at  me  a  moment  Tom  said,  ''  For  your 

family's  sake  I  will   spare  you,  for  I  think  you   d d 

fool  enough  to  die  before  you  would  give  up  the  goods." 
I  thanked  him  and  said  I  believed  as  he  did. 

After  this  we  had  no  more  trouble.  Many  times  I 
have  thought  I  should  have  shown  our  force  openly  to 
have  deterred  Williams,  but  he  was  such  a  known  bully 
and  so  conceited  that  I  felt  just  like  "  taking  him  down  a 
notch,"  and  this  did  it. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


Ample  Food  Supplies  Arrive — I  go  to  Salt  Lake  City — My  report  to 
President  Young — He  approves  it — I  am  accused  of  Stealing 
— My  vindication. 

THE  wagons  being  sent  out  for  the  goods  soon  be- 
gan to  arrive.  Provisions  were  not  in  question 
now,  as  we  had  plenty.  There  was  also  a  big  Y.  X. 
company,  Levi  Stewart  in  charge,  going  down  to  stock 
the  road,  and  a  company  of  Elders  traveling  with  hand- 
carts came  through  from  Salt  Lake  City.  It  was  about 
one  week  from  the  first  arrival  until  the  last  of  these 
arrived. 

President  Young  had  sent  me  several  letters  con- 
taining instructions   of  various  kinds  pertaining  to   my 


no  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

duties  ;  but  one  particular  letter  of  definite  instructions 
how  to  arrange  many  things,  had  not  arrived.  I  kept 
waiting  for  it,  as  there  were  many  things  to  do  that  I  had 
no  instructions  about.  I  kept  enquiring  but  no  letter 
came.  Finally  all  were  in.  I  asked  some  of  the  older 
and  more  experienced  Elders  what  I  should  do.  Their 
answer  was  that  they  were  also  expecting  instructions 
and  that  they  were  more  in  need  of  counsel  than  able  to 
give  it. 

There  were  over  two  hundred  teams  now  on  the 
ground,  many  of  the  owners  beginning  to  get  impatient 
at  the  delay.  I  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  so  I  went  out 
after  night  and  asked  the  Lord  to  help  me  out.  I  told 
Him  I  desired  to  do  exactly  what  was  best,  but  did  not 
know  a  thing  about  it,  and  made  this  proposition  that  I 
would  take  my  clerk  with  me  in  the  morning,  and  when 
a  question  was  asked  me  by  any  one  what  to  do,  I  would 
tell  the  clerk  to  write  down  just  what  first  came  to  my 
mind.  And  if  that  was  right  to  please  remove  the  spirit 
of  oppression  that  I  was  laboring  under  and  allow  me  to 
go  back  to  the  fort  and  enjoy  myself  with  my  friends. 
My  mind  was  at  once  entirely  relieved.  I  went  and 
passed  a  pleasant  evening. 

Next  morning  without  saying  anything  about  the' 
lack  of  instructions  we  commenced  business.  Soon 
some  one  asked  whose  teams  were  to  be  loaded  first,  I 
dictated  to  my  clerk.  Thus  we  continued.  As  fast  as 
the  clerk  put  them  down,  orders  would  be  given,  and  we 
passed  on  to  the  next.  We  continued  this  for  four  days. 
Everything  that  I  felt  to  be  my  duty  was  done.  All  the 
teams  were  loaded  up,  companies  organized  and  started 
back,  men  detailed  to  remain  a  while  longer.  Elders 
furnished  flour,  and  a  great  deal  of  business  was  done. 
A  memorandum  was  kept  of  all  this. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  Ill 

I  hitched  up  a  team  and  started  for  home  when 
everything  was  in  shape.  I  reached  Salt  Lake  City  a 
few  hours  ahead  of  the  freight  teams,  and  went  to  Presi- 
dent Young's  office.  He  was  very  glad  to  see  me, 
expressing  much  sympathy  and  saying  that  if  he  had 
known  of  our  suffering  in  time  he  would  have  sent  us 
supplies  at  any  cost.  I  acted  a  little  stiff  for  I  did  not 
know  whether  my  management  of  the  last  business  would 
be  approved  of  or  not,  but  I  was  determined  to  defend 
my  actions,  for  I  knew  I  had  done  the  best  I  could. 

Soon  Brother  Young  asked  me  if  I  had  attended  to 
everything  in  order  before  leaving.  My  reply  was,  "I 
hope  I  did  but  do  not  know." 

"Well,  you  acted  according  to  my  instructions,  did 
you  not?" 

"I  don't  know.  I  did  not  get  any  instructions,  and 
it  was  pretty  hard  on  me." 

I  handed  him  my  book  saying:  "  Here  is  a  report  of 
what  we  did  ;  I  hope  it  is  satisfactory." 

,  Brother  Brigham  asked  his  clerk,  T.  D.  Brown, 
about  the  letter  of  instructions.  Brother  Brown  said  a 
few  days  after  the  last  of  these  companies  left,  in  looking 
over  his  papers  he  found  a  letter  directed  to  D.  W.  Jones. 
It  was  the  letter  that  should  have  been  sent. 

Brother  Brigham  commenced  reading  my  report, 
and  as  he  read  would  remark,  ''That  is  right;  this  is 
right.     Well,  you  seemed  to  get  along  all  right." 

I  began  to  feel  pretty  good.  Finally  Brother  Brown 
was  told  to  look  over  the  letter,  which  was  very  large, 
containing  many  items  of  special  instructions.  My  report 
agreed  with  the  whole  of  it.  This  confirmed  me  more 
than  ever  in  my  faith  in  inspiration.  Also  in  the  honesty 
of  Brigham  Young  and  his  counseling,  for  if  his  instruc- 
tions had  not  been   honest  I   would   never   have    been 


112  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Inspired  to  anticipate  them.  The  trouble  lies  with  us ; 
we  many  times  want  to  dictate  the  inspiration,  or,  in 
other  words,  put  forward  our  own  ideas  and  desires  and 
call  them  inspirations. 

I  met  my  mother-in-law  in  Salt  Lake  City  and  heard 
from  my  wife  and  two  children,  who  were  living  with 
Father  P.  Colton  in  Provo.  We  started  for  home  the 
next  day,  where  I  met  my  family  after  so  long  and  severe 
a  trip.  It  was  with  joy  and  thankfulness  that  I  greeted 
my  wife,  who  was  one  of  the  best  and  most  faithful 
wives  that  ever  blessed  a  husband. 

This  was  the  spring  after  what  is  known  as  the  win- 
ter of  the  Reformation.  The  reformation  move  was 
doubtless  intended  for  and  resulted  in  good;  but  like 
everything  else  where  good  is  found  the  devil  comes 
along  to  see  what's  up.  So  it  was  nothing  strange  if 
while  browsing  around  he  had  a  hand  in  some  of  the 
moves  of  men.  This  I  soon  became  satisfied  was  the 
case  now,  and  I  did  not  take  much  "stock  "  in  what  some 
people  called  reformation. 

When  I  left  Devil's  Gate,  it  was  with  the  understand- 
ing that  I  was  to  return  there  and  take  charge  of  the 
place  as  a  Y.  X.  station,  but  Brother  Brigham  counter- 
manded the  order,  saying  that  I  had  had  enough  of 
Devil's  Gate  for  one  man. 

As  I  was  so  sure  of  going  back  when  I  left  Devil's 
Gate  I  had  left  my  gun,  saddle,  a  wagon  that  I  had 
traded  for,  as  well  as  a  lot  of  carriage  springs  that  I  had 
gathered  up. 

In  these  days  there  were  many  things  thrown  away 
on  the  plains  that  were  of  value,  and  it  was  profitable  to 
go  back  with  teams  and  gather  up  wagon  tires  and 
other  things  which  had  been  abandoned.  I  spoke  to 
Brother  Brigham  about  this.     He  said  he  wished  me  to 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I  1 3 

Stop  in  the  city  long  enough  to  help  dehver  the  goods  to 
the  owners.  Patrick  Lynch  and  myself  were  appointed 
to  take  charge  of  them. 

I  soon  learned  that  strange  stories  had  been  put  in 
circulation  about  me.  I  was  accused  of  stealing  and 
hiding  away  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  goods.  As 
there  was  no  communication  between  us  and  the  valley 
how  this  started  was  a  mystery,  only  to  be  accounted  for 
by  men's  imaginations.  So  strong  was  the  belief  in  my 
guilt  that  about  the  time  the  reformation  was  at  its  height 
in  Provo,  a  teacher  came  to  visit  my  wife,  telling  her 
that  she  ought  to  leave  me  and  marry  some  good  man. 
I  could  give  the  name  of  the  teacher,  but  he  is  now  dead 
so  I  will  spare  his  memory.  My  wife  answered,  "Well 
I  will  not  leave  Daniel  Jones.  I  cannot  better  myself, 
for  if  he  will  steal  there  is  not  an  honest  man  on  earth." 
I  always  appreciated  the  answer. 

One  family  who  I  will  also  spare  as  they  are  not 
yet  dead  came  to  search  my  house  for  stolen  goods  but 
did  not  find  any.  They  professed  to  be  very  sorry  for 
having  come.  My  wife  treated  them  with  perfect  civility; 
no  doubt  they  were  ashamed  of  themselves  and  are  to 
this  day  when  they  think  of  the  indignity.  While  de- 
livering their  goods  I  was  often  accused  of  having  robbed 
people.  The  goods  formerly  spoken  of  being  divided  to 
cache  were  never  replaced  and  I  had  to  bear  the  blame. 
Again,  before  the  trains  had  stopped  in  the  snow-storms, 
so  I  was  informed  by  some  of  the  brethren  who  stayed 
at  Devil's  Gate,  there  had  been  a  number  of  heavy  boxes 
emptied,  the  goods  stuffed  into  sacks  and  the  boxes 
broken  up  for  firewood.  The  owners  of  course  looked 
in  vain  for  their  boxes.  Many  sacks  of  goods  remained 
at  the  Tithing  Office  for  a  long  time  before  being  identi- 
fied by  the  owners  of  the  goods.     I  believe  the  most  of 

7 


114  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

these  articles  finally  got  where  they  belonged.  But 
in  the  meantime  I  was  "Paddy  Miles'  boy,"  who  had 
done  all  the  mischief.  Brother  Lynch  felt  so  Indignant 
that  he  reported  these  accusations  to  President  Young 
when  I  received  the  following  letter: 

"  President's  Office,  Great  Salt  Lake  City, 

''June   I  ith,  1857. 
''To  the  Bishops  and  Presidents  in   Utah, 
''Beloved  Brethren: 

"Inasmuch  as  there  are  some  persons  disposed  to 
find  fault  with  the  management  of  Brother  Daniel  W. 
Jones  while  at  Devil's  Gate,  we  feel  desirous  to  express 
ourselves  perfectly  satisfied  with  his  labors  while  there, 
and  with  the  care  that  he  has  taken  of  the  property 
intrusted  to  him.  He  has  our  confidence,  and  we  say, 
God  bless  him  for  what  he  has  done.  The  men  who  find 
fault  with  the  labors  of  Brother  Jones  the  past  winter,  we 
wish  their  names  sent  to  this  office,  and  when  the  Lord 
presents  an  opportunity  we  will  try  them  and  see  if  they 
will  do  any  better. 

*'Brigham  Young, 
"  Daniel  H.  Wells, 
"George  D.  Grant." 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  II 5 


CHAPTER  XX. 

My  Trading  Trip — President  Young  Asks  me  to  Meet  some  False 
Charges — Wicked  Reports  Concerning  me — Their  Unjustness 
made  Manifest — The  President's  Stern  Reproof  to  my  Accusers 
— An  Excellent  Recommend. 

MY  WIFE  remained  in  the  city  with  me  during  the 
time  we  were  delivering  the  goods,  some  three 
weeks.  After  getting  through,  I,  in  company  with  W. 
Roberts  of  Provo,  fitted  up  a  team  and  went  back  to  trade. 

Roberts  remained  at  the  South  Pass  while  I  went 
down  with  two  yoke  of  oxen  to  Devil's  Gate.  It  maybe 
interesting  to  some  to  give  a  brief  description  of  my  trip 
going  down,  some  ninety  miles.  Stephen  Markham  was 
in  charge  of  the  Y.  X.  station  at  the  South  Pass.  He 
had  nine  head  of  good  milk  cows  in  charge  which  he  had 
orders  to  send  to  Devil's  Gate  for  the  use  of  men  sta- 
tioned there.  He  offered  to  furnish  me  a  horse  if  I  would 
drive  them  down.  This  was  agreeable,  as  I  would  have 
had  to  foot  it  otherwise. 

As  I  could  not  carry  provisions  very  well,  and  hav- 
ing money,  it  was  supposed  that  I  could  buy  bread  at 
least,  as  there  were  trains  of  California  emigrants  con- 
tinually on  the  road.  Cups  were  scarce,  so  when  I  started 
out  I  had  nothing  but  my  blankets  and  gun.  I  happened 
to  have  a  new  clay  pipe  in  my  pocket.  After  asking 
several  persons  to  sell  me  a  cup  and  some  bread  and 
being  refused,  concluded  to  see  if  I  could  not  get  through 
with  what  I  had.  The  cows  all  gave  plenty  of  milk  and 
were  gentle.  I  necessarily  had  to  milk  them  to  keep 
their  udders  from  spoiling.  So  when  I  would  get  a  cow 
all  milked  but  the  strippings  I  would  put  the  stem  of  the 
pipe  into  my  mouth  and  milk  into  the  bowl  and  draw  the 


Il6  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

milk  through.  This  was  about  the  same  as  sucking 
''mint  julep"  with  a  straw.  I  enjoyed  it  immensely, 
being  fond  of  new  milk. 

I  found  it  so  much  better  than  eating  rawhide  that  I 
ceased  asking  the  emigrants  I  met  for  either  a  cup  or 
bread.  I  made  the  trip  through  in  less  than  four  days ; 
probably  felt  a  little  "calfish"  but  never  lost  my  flesh  or 
strength. 

While  at  Devil's  Gate  on  this  trip  some  parties 
arrived  from  the  states  bringing  news  of  the  army  being 
ordered  to  'Utah ;  and  that  the  mail  contract  which  had 
been  let  to  Brigham  Young  and  company  was  cancelled, 
and  that  in  consequence  of  this  the  Y.  X.  (Young's  Ex- 
press) companies  were  all  called  home.  This  was  start- 
ling news,  as  all  had  been  at  peace  and  nothing  to  justify 
the  move  could  be  surmised.  The  cause  of  this  whole 
raid  and  the  result  are  matters  of  history,  so  I  will  not 
mention  the  subject  at  present. 

After  getting  my  stuff  together  two  of  the  brethren 
who  had  stayed  there  during  the  winter  accompanied 
me  and  we  started  back  towards  South  Pass,  making  the 
trip  in  good  time.  My  partner,  Mr.  Roberts,  having 
traded  to  good  advantage,  we  were  soon  ready  to  start 
home. 

On  arriving  in  Salt  Lake  City  I  went  to  the  Tithing 
Office  as  I  had  some  articles  belonging  there.  I  was 
informed  that  Brother  Brigham  wished  to  see  me.  I 
went  at  once  to  his  office,  not  even  taking  time  to  wash 
my  face.  As  I  got  to  the  outside  door  of  Brother 
Young's  office  I  met  him  coming  out  alone.  After  shak- 
ing hands,  inquiring  after  my  health,  etc.,  he  said,  ''Come, 
let  us  take  a  Utrie  walk.  I  want  to  talk  to  you."  We 
started  and  went  toward  his  barn  in  the  rear  of  his 
dwelling.      He  informed  me  that  there  had  been  a  formal 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I  1 7 

complaint  made  against  me  for  robbing  the  people  of 
their  goods  while  at  Devil's  Gate ;  said  these  complaints 
were  made  by  some  of  the  Elders  in  behalf  of  them- 
selves and  others.  He  gave  the  names  of  some  of  my 
accusers.  He  then  asked,  "Are  you  willing  to  meet 
these  accusations  and  answer  them?" 

I  replied,  "Yes,  sir,  I  am  both  willing  and  glad  of 
the  opportunity."  At  the  same  time  I  gave  the  names 
of  some  I  wished  as  witnesses. 

He  then  said,  "Be  here  in  ten  days  from  today  and 
we  will  hear  these  complaints." 

I  felt  quite  sore  and  would  like  to  have  had  a  little 
consolation  from  Brother  Brigham,  but  he  commenced 
moving  about,  showing  me  his  horses  and  cattle  and 
chatting  till  we  returned  to  his  office.  His  manner  was 
kind  and  pleasant.  He  asked  me  about  my  trip  and 
success.  Also  made  some  remarks  about  the  army ;  say- 
ing that  we  would  have  a  busy  time  soon.  Said  the  boys 
were  going  out  to  meet  the  army  and  see  about  getting 
the  road  clear  so  that  there  would  be  no  obstructions  in 
the  way  until  they  got  near  enough  to  us  that  we  could 
see  what  was  best  to  do  with  them  without  having  to  go 
too  far ;  that  he  had  sent  word  to  have  everything  belong- 
ing to  the  mail  company  on  the  road,  all  goods  and 
everything  "Mormon"  started  west  as  soon  as  possible. 

It  was  harvest  time  when  I  got  home  to  Provo.  I  felt 
almost  sick.  I  had  never  taken  to  the  amount  of  a  cent 
anything  except  such  as  we  were  compelled  to  use,  and 
these  were  always  kept  in  account  by  the  clerk.  As  I 
had  many  opportunities  to  take  goods  and  hide  them  and 
no  one  be  the  wiser,  and  as  goods  had  been  misplaced, 
people  were  not  entirely  to  blame  for  accusing  me  after 
the  stories  had  once  got  in  circulation.  The  originators 
of  these  accusations  were  the  more  responsible  parties. 


Il8  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Many  of  the  stones  originated  with  the  man  who  left  his 
keys  with  me.  To  please  his  family  and  other  relatives 
he  had  collected  for  presents  considerable  stuff  while  on 
his  mission.  Some  of  these  things  he  had  given  away 
to  the  brethren,  as  heretofore  mentioned.  I  believe  he 
left  his  trunks  and  keys  with  me  in  perfect  good  faith 
at  the  time.  After  getting  home  he  naturally  supposed 
we  would  use  much  of  his  stuff  and  that  this  would  jus- 
tify him  in  accounting  not  only  for  what  he  had  given 
away  but  for  all  that  his  good-heartedness  would  have 
caused  him  to  do  for  his  family.  So  there  was  nothing 
mentioned  scarcely  but  what  he  was  fetching  them,  pro- 
vided it  was  not  taken  from  his  trunks.  When  his  goods 
arrived  and  many  of  these  fine  things  were  missing,  (one 
bill  of  fifty  pairs  of  silk  stockings  among  the  rest)  of 
course  ''Jones  stole  them."  I  carried  his  keys  all  winter 
in  my  pocket,  entrusting  them  to  no  one,  so  of  course  I 
knew  whether  anything  was  stolen  or  not. 

It  was  this  same  man's  wife  that  came  to  search  for 
stolen  goods  during  the  winter.  There  was  so  much 
rascality  brought  to  light  that  winter  that  it  was  no  won- 
der that  nearly  everyone  except  my  wife  and  family 
thought  I  was  guilty. 

The  emigrants,  taking  their  cue  from  this  brother, 
passed  my  name  far  and  wide  as  a  great  robber.  So 
much  so  that  I  was  refused  admittance  into  a  quorum  of 
Seventies  at  Provo  that  I  had  formerly  been  invited  to 
join. 

I  returned  home  and  worked  a  few  days  in  the  har- 
vest field.  I  said  but  little  to  anyone  about  my  coming 
trial.  I  was  tempted  at  times  to  leave  the  country,  for  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  had  no  friends.  The  devil  tempted 
me  continually  to  believe  that  President  'Young  would 
believe  my  accusers,  they  being  men  of  influence.    Then 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I  I9 

there  was  another  spirit  whispering  to  me,  saying,  "You 
are  innocent;  he  Is  a  prophet  and  will  understand  the 
truth."     This  spirit  prevailed. 

On  arriving  at  President  Young  s  office  August 
25th,  1857,  I  found  quite  a  number  present.  I  was  asked 
if  I  was  ready  for  the  hearing.  I  replied  that  I  did  not 
see  my  witnesses.  President  Young  answered:  ''When 
we  need  them  we  will  send  for  them."  I  was  then 
called  upon  to  give  my  report  and  show  how  we  had 
lived,  what  the  cost  of  living  was,  etc.  I  had  an  account 
of  all  our  expenditures,  which  amounted  to  about  75  cts. 
a  week  for  each  man.  Some  one  remarked  that  we  could 
not  live  so  cheaply.  Then  began  quite  a  discussion  over 
our  cheap  living.  Some  were  Inclined  to  question  my 
statement.  Brother  Young  said  to  me,  "Brother  Jones, 
get  up  and  tell  the  brethren  just  how  you  lived,  and 
explain  to  them  why  your  accounts  only  amount  to  75 
cts.  a  week. 

I  then  made  the  statement  that  we  had  killed  and 
eaten  forty  head  of  cattle  that  were  so  poor  they  were 
dying;  we  had  lived  on  the  meat  and  hides  some  two 
months ;  that  we  had  not  credited  the  owners  anything 
for  them,  as  we  thought  it  was  worth  the  cattle  to  eat 
them.  That  we  had  killed  some  game  at  various  times. 
That  was  ours,  no  credit  allowed  ;  had  lived  two  weeks 
on  thistles  dug  from  the  frozen  ground,  no  credit ; .  one 
week  on  native  garlic  ;  three  days  on  minnows  caught 
with  a  dip-net,  fish  too  small  to  clean,  rather  bitter  In 
taste,  no  credit ;  several  meals  on  prickly  pear  leaves 
roasted,  no  credit ;  several  days  without  anything  much 
but  water  to  drink,  no  credit ;  some  five  months  mostly 
on  short  rations  without  bread  or  salt.  These  were 
about  all  the  reasons  for  the  price  being  so  low.  The 
seventy-five  cents  per  week  covered  all  the  meats  bought 


I20  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

of  Indians  or  anyone  else.  All  groceries,  soap,  candles, 
in  fact  everything  used  belonging  to  the  companies,  in- 
cluding some  leather  owned  by  F.  D.  Richards,  who 
remarked  to  me  that  he  was  glad  it  was  there  for  us  to 
use.  Brothers  Jas.  Ferguson  and  W.  C.  Dunbar  also 
made  the  same  remark  about  some  groceries  used  of 
theirs.  Not  so  with  some  others.  They  grieved  very 
much  over  what  stufT  had  been  used  of  theirs. 

After  I  got  through  making  my  statements.  Brother 
Young  asked  each  of  my  accusers  what  they  had  to  say. 
No  one  answered.  Then  he  spoke  each  man's  name, 
asking  them  one  at  a  time  if  they  believed  what  I  had 
said.  All  replied  in  the  affirmative.  He  asked  each  one 
if  they  believed  I  had  been  honest,  and  taken  good  care 
of  their  goods.     All  answered  "Yes." 

Brother  Young  then  stood  up  and  said  to  the 
brethren,  "You  have  accused  Bro.  Jones  of  stealing 
from  you  and  others  whom  you  represent,  some  five 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  goods.  These  accusations 
commenced  in  the  winter  when  Brother  Jones  and  com- 
panions were  eating  raw  hide  and  poor  meat,  suffering 
every  privation  possible  to  take  care  of  your  stuff.  How 
such  stories  started  when  there  was  no  communication 
can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  known  power  of  Satan 
to  deceive  and  lie.  These  accusations  continued  until  I, 
hearing  of  them,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Bishops  and  Presi- 
dents, expressing  my  confidence  in  Brother  Jones'  labors; 
knowing  at  that  time,  as  well  as  I  do  now,  that  he  was 
innocent.  I  knew  what  Brother  Jones'  feelings  were  the 
other  day  when  I  notified  him  of  this  trial."  Turning  to 
me  he  said,  "You  wanted  to  ask  me  if  I  thought  you 
guilty,  but  I  gave  you  no  chance  to  ask  the  question.  I 
wanted  you  to  learn  that  when  I  decide  anything,  as  I 
had  in  your  case,  I  do  not  change  my  mind.     You  were 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  121 

not  brought  here  for  trial  for  being  guilty,  but  to  give 
you  a  chance  to  stop  these  accusations."  Then  turning 
to  my  accusers  again,  "How  does  this  look?  After 
charging  Brother  Jones  as  you  have,  he  makes  a  simple 
statement,  affirming  nothing,  neither  witnessing  any- 
thing, and  each  of  you  say  you  believe  he  has  told  the 
truth.  You  have  nothing  to  answer  save  that  he  is  an 
honest  man.  Well,  now,  what  have  you  brought  him 
here  for?  " 

One  of  the  complainers  then  asked  if  some  of  the 
company  with  me  might  not  have  stolen  the  goods.  I 
answered  "No;  I  am  here  to  answer  for  all.  Besides  it 
would  have  been  almost  impossible  for  anyone  besides 
myself  to  have  taken  anything  unbeknown  to  others." 

Bro.   asked,    "If  neither   Bro.   Jones  nor   the 

brethren  with  him  have  taken  anything,  how  is  it  that  I 
have  lost  so  much?" 

Brother  Brigham  replied,  "It  is  because  you  lie.  You 
have  not  lost  as  you  say  you  have."  This  I  knew  to  be 
correct  as  before  stated,  I  had  this  brother's  keys  and 
knew  that  nothing  had  been  taken. 

Brother  Brigham  continued  talking,  chastising  some 
of  the  Elders  present  for  their  ingratitude.  Brother 
Kimball  also  felt  indignant  toward  them.  Finally 
Brother  Brigham  commenced  to  pronounce  a  curse 
upon  those  who  had  spoken  falsely  about  me.  I  asked 
him  to  stop  before  he  had  finished  the  words,  and  told 
him  I  could  bear  their  accusations  better  than  they  could 
bear  his  curse.  He  then  blessed  me,  saying  they  would 
be  cursed  if  they  did  not  cease  their  talk ;  saying  that  we 
had  seen  the  hardest  time  that  any  Elders  ever  had. 
While  the  "Mormon"  Battalion  suffered,  they  were  free 
to  travel,  looking  forward  with  hope  to  something,  better; 
but  that  we  were  much  longer  under  suffering  conditions. 


122  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

as  we  were  tied  up  and  had  no  hope  only  to  stay  and 
take  our  chances. 

When  done  speaking  he  asked  me  what  would  sat- 
isfy me  and  what  demands  I  had  to  make.  I  told  him  of 
the  refusal  to  admit  me  into  the  quorum  at  Provo,  saying 
that  if  I  was  considered  worthy,  I  would  like  a  recom- 
mend so  as  to  have  fellowship  there. 

The  following  letter  was  given  me : 

''Great  Salt  Lake  City,  President's  Office, 

''Aug.  25th,  1857. 
"This  is  to  certify  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  that 
we,  the  undersigned,  have  investigated  the  matters 
between  Daniel  W.  Jones  and  the  brethren  who  stayed 
with  him  at  Devil's  Gate,  last  winter,  and  those  who  left 
goods  at  that  place,  and  we  are  satisfied  that  Brother 
Jones  and  those  with  him  did  the  best  they  possibly 
could,  were  perfectly  honest,  and  that  Brother  Jones  has 
satisfactorily  accounted  for  all  the  things  which  were 
taken ;  and  they  were  necessarily  taken  to  save  the  lives 
of  himself  and  company. 

"We  consider  that  Brother  Jones  is  entitled  to  the 
praise,  confidence  and  respect  of  all  good  men  for  the 
wise,  self-denying  and  efficient  course  he  pursued.  And 
we  recommend  him  to  all  as  a  faithful  brother  in  good 
standing  and  full  fellowship  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints.  (Signed) 

"Brigham  Young,  Daniel  Spencer, 

"Heber  C.  Kimball,         John  Van  Cott, 
"Daniel  H.  Wells,         George  D.  Grant, 
"John  Taylor,  C.  H.  Wheelock, 

"Amasa  Lyman,  Edmund  Ellsworth, 


F.  D.   Richards. 


T.  W.  Ellerbeck, 
"Clerk. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I  23, 

Brother  Brigham  said  if  we  had  set  fire  to  the 
whole  outfit  and  run  off  by  the  Hght  of  it  he  would  never 
have  found  fault.  So  the  trial  ended  and  I  went  home 
feeling  pretty  well. 

I  was  asked  many  years  after  this  trial  by  a  son-in- 
law  of  one  of  my  accusers  if  Brother  Brigham  did  not 
favor  me  in  the  trial  because  we  had  been  partial  and 
used  others'  goods,  leaving  Brother  Brigham's  alone. 

I  replied,  ''No,  sir;  Brother  Brigham  had  no  goods 
whatever  at  Devil's  Gate.  Neither  had  his  name  ever 
showed  on  box  or  bale,  therefore  he  could  not  have 
favored  us  on  that  account.  He  decided  as  he  did  simply 
because  he  was  just  and  right.  Whether  we  were  all 
naturally  honest  or  not,  we  were  honest  this  trip,  at  least; 
for  there  was  hardly  a  day  but  what  starvation  stared  us 
in  the  face,  and  we  were  not  much  inclined  to  pilfer  dry 
goods  anyway." 

I  presented  my  recommend  to  the  quorum  which 
now  received  me  into  their  fellowship.  After  this  some 
few  came  to  me  asking  about  goods  in  rather  an  accus- 
ing manner.  I  referred  them  to  Brother  Brigham.  So 
far  and  wide  had  the  stories  gone,  that  many  took  advan- 
tage of  them.  One  old  lady,  an  emigrant,  who  went  to 
live  in  Provo,  played  a  sharp  game,  but  was  found  out. 
She  had  three  daughters  who  were  all  married  soon  after 
getting  in.  These  young  ladies,  as  is  usual  with  Eng- 
lish girls,  had  a  nice  lot  of  linen.  So  when  the  luggage 
arrived,  in  the  spring,  the  old  lady  came  from  Provo  for 
the  family  goods.  She,  considering  her  daughters  pro- 
vided for,  and  being  thrifty  in  her  nature  and  liking  to 
appear  well,  took  her  daughters'  linen  and  traded  it  for 
furniture. 

The  reader  must  know  that  in  those  days  anything 
from  a  pumpkin  to  a  petticoat  was  a  legal  tender  for 


124  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

some  amount,  so  the  old  lady  had  no  trouble  in  making 
the  exchange.  She  went  back  feeling  indignant  at 
"Jones"  for  robbing  her  daughters.  She  was  a  great 
tea-party  woman  and  never  missed  a  chance  to  tell  of 
my  cruel  conduct,  sometimes  shedding  tears  over  it. 

One  man  who  had  married  a  daugher  became  a 
little  suspicious,  so  he  went  to  the  city  and  visited  the 
furniture  dealer,  and  soon  found  the  linen.  He  told  me 
of  the  circumstance  and  asked  me  what  I  wished  done, 
as  he  considered  it  an  outrage.  I  told  him  it  was  not 
worth  noticing,  as  there  were  so  many  similar  things ;  to 
let  the  old  woman  and  her  daughters  settle  their  own 
affairs,  that  would  be  punishment  enough.  I  could  tell 
of  many  more  but  this  will  suffice.  Some  of  these  sto- 
ries were  related  during  the  investigation. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 


The  Echo  Canyon  War — An  Invading  Foe — Plans  for  checking  its 
Progress — Peace  declared-^Pardon  granted — The  true  Cause  of 
the  Trouble — I  work  at  Saddlery — The  unjustifiable  Killing  of 
Yates — Visit  from  Indians. 

1WILL  not  attempt  to  give  a  full  account  of  the  Echo 
Canyon  war  but  will  give  only  sufficient  to  connect 
this  history. 

Word  reached  Utah  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  July, 
1857,  while  the  people  were  celebrating  Pioneer  day  in 
Big  Cottonwood  canyon  that  U.  S.  troops  were  on  the 
road  to  Utah.  As  soon  as  this  report  was  confirmed, 
and  the  intentions  of  the  invaders  fully  learned — which 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 25 

were  to  place  the  Territory  under  martial  law,  on  the 
pretext  that  the  "Mormons"  were  in  a  state  of  rebellion 
— Brigham  Young,  both  as  President  of  the  Church,  and 
Governor  of  the  Territory,  commenced  to  advise  and 
issue  orders  to  meet  the  situation.  The  far-off  settle- 
ments, San  Bernardino  In  Lower  California  and  Carson 
valley,  Nevada,  both  thrifty,  prosperous  places,  were 
broken  up  and  the  people  called  home  to  Utah.  There 
was  a  determined  spirit  manifested  by  both  leaders  and 
people  to  be  ready  to  meet  in  the  best  possible  way 
whatever  might  come.  No  fear  nor  timidity  was  shown. 
Neither  was  there  lack  of  counsel,  but  everything  that 
was  required  to  be  done  was  promptly  directed  and  as 
promptly  executed. 

A  few  companies  of  cavalry  militia  were  sent  out  to 
reconnoiter.  Nothing  official  could  be  done  by  Governor 
Young  on  rumor.  Finally  an  armed  force  not  officially 
known  to  him  was  found  Invading  the  Territory  of  Utah. 
As  soon  as  this  was  reported.  The  Governor  ordered 
General  Wells  to  Interrupt  them  and  hinder  their 
approach,  and  protect  the  people  of  the  Territory  from 
the  Invading  foe. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  did  not  President 
Young  and  the  people  know  that  these  were  government 
troops  ?  President  Young  and  the  people  knew  it  was  a 
political  mob  ;  Governor  Young,  not  being  notified 
officially  of  their  coming,  only  knew  them  as  an  armed 
enemy  entering  the  Territory.  He  was  appointed 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  govern  under 
the  laws  common  in  the  country.  According  to  his  oath 
of  office,  he  could  do  no  less  than  try  to  protect  his 
Territory.  Governor  Young  had  no  more  right  to  know 
this  army  than  had  the  sentinel  on  duty  to  know  his 
captain  unless  the  captain  gives  the  counter  sign.     This 


T26  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Johnston  at  first  refused  to  give,  but  as  the  sequel  shows, 
^ever  got  in  until  he  ** hollowed  turkey." 

This  force  continued  to  advance.  The  troops 
ordered  out  by  General  Wells  did  what  they  could  to 
hinder  their  progress  toward  the  valleys.  The  situation 
finally  became  so  serious  that  companies  were  ordered 
from  Davis,  Salt  Lake,  and  Utah  counties  to  fortify  Echo 
canyon.  I  went  with  the  regiment  from  Utah  under 
Colonal  Pace,  and  had  charge  of  a  few  picked  riflemen. 
We  remained  in  Echo  during  the  winter  fortifying  the 
place. 

The  boys  on  the  plains  made  it  very  disagreeable 
for  the  advancing  army  nightly,  running  off  their  beef 
herd,  burning  their  provision  trains  and  the  grass,  and 
in  every  way  possible  impeding  their  progress.  Finally, 
winter  set  in  with  severity,  catching  them  in  the  mount- 
.ains  at  Fort  Bridger,  where  they  were  obliged  to  stay  for 
the  winter.  They  were  short  of  supplies  and  had  a  hard 
time  wintering.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  was  in  com- 
mand. 

After  this  army  was  fully  settled  in  their  quarters, 
part  of  the  Utah  army  returned  home,  leaving  only 
enough  to  watch  the  moves  at  Bridger.  This  was  a 
winter  of  business  for  the  "Mormon"  people.  There 
was  no  thought  of  submission,  everything  was  fully 
-arranged  for  the  spring  work. 

As  soon  as  the  weather  moderated  in  the  spring  of 
1858,  the  people  commenced  to  move  from  Salt  Lake 
■<!!ity  and  more  northern  settlements,  south  as  far  as 
Utah  county.  Every  house  in  Salt  Lake  City  was 
abandoned,  not  a  family  remaining.  Men  were  detailed 
to  set  fire  to  and  burn  everything  that  could  be  burned. 
The  people  really  manifested  joy  in  these  moves.     No 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 2/ 

one  appeared  down-hearted  at  the  sacrifices.     All  was 
life  and  energy. 

What  was  known  as  the  standing  army  of  Utah  was 
organized,  intending  to  make  guerrilla  warfare  on  our 
enemies  and  hinder  their  progress,  while  the  people 
moved  en  masse  further  and  further  south.  There  had 
been  good  crops  raised  previous  to  this  year ;  the  coun- 
try was  full  of  bread  stuff  and  fat  cattle.  Provisions  were 
prepared  for  future  use.  Not  much  planting  was  done 
this  season,  particularly  in  the  north. 

A  few  troops  were  kept  in  Echo  and  along  the 
road.  I  had  charge  of  a  company  at  Lost  Spring  near 
the  head  of  the  canyon.  In  the  latter  part  of  May  we 
received  orders  to  break  up  camp  aiid  come  in ;  that 
peace  had  been  made.  (The  part  Col.  Kane  took  in 
bringing  about  a  settlement  is  a  part  of  written  history.) 
Ex-Governor  Powell,  of  Kentucky,  and  McCullough,  of 
Texas,  were  sent  to  arrange  peace.  They  brought  printed 
posters  declaring  the  people  all  pardoned  and  notifying 
them  to  return  to  their  houses.  Thus  we  conquered  a 
_great  army  and  nation  without  bloodshed. 

The  whole  of  this  move  was  brought  about  by  a 
charge  made  against  the  ''Mormons"  by  Judge  Drum- 
mond,  who  had  been  appointed  from  the  state  of  Illinois. 
He  had  left  his  wife  and  family  at  home  and  brought 
here  with  him  a  fancy  lady  (?)  who  sat  beside  him  in 
court.  This  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  public, 
Drummond  was  severely  criticized  by  the  "Mormon" 
press.  At  this  he  took  offense,  and  laid  his  plans  for 
deep  revenge.  He  locked  up  his  office,  with  the  records 
in  it,  and  arranged  with  a  party  to  set  fire  to  and  burn 
up  the  whole.  He  then  left  the  city  in  a  hurry,  pretend- 
ing to  be  afraid  for  his  life.  Went  back  to  Washington 
and   reported   the  ''Mormons"  in   a  state  of  rebellion, 


128  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Stating  that  all  the  United  States  records  were  burned, 
and  that  he,  a  United  States  judge,  had  barely  escaped 
with  his  life. 

It  is  commonly  understood  that  Secretary  Floyd  and 
his  party  took  this  report  kindly,  it  giving  grounds  for  a 
move  by  the  army  to  the  far  west,  thus  weakening  the 
power  of  the  Federal  Government  financially,  and  mov- 
ing much  of  the  armament  and  military  supplies,  and 
giving  the  rebellion  a  better  chance  to  get  a  good  start 
before  the  necessary  force  could  be  put  in  the  field  by 
the  government.  So  Drummond's  report  was  acted 
upon  without  any  enquiry  whatever  being  made  to  find 
out  whether  it  was  true  or  not. 

No  moves  back  were  made  until  the  army  had  pass- 
ed through  the  city.  This  was  a  sorrowful  day  for 
the  soldiers.  I  afterwards  traveled  and  became  well 
acquainted  with  many  of  the  commissioned  officers.  As 
is  common  with  the  army  officers,  they  were  real  gentle- 
men, and  were  in  no  way  responsible  for  these  moves. 
Many  of  them  told  me  they  shed  tears  while  passing 
through  the  streets  of  Salt  Lake  to  see  pleasant  homes 
deserted  and  everything  a  waste ;  that  it  could  only  be 
compared  to  a  city  of  the  dead  ;  and  that  to  think  they 
were  the  Instruments  used  to  cause  all  this  made  them 
ashamed  of  their  calling. 

The  army  agreed  to  fix  their  quarters  not  less  than 
forty  miles  of  Salt  Lake  City.  This  agreement  was 
kept. 

During  the  winter  Col.  Marcy  went  through  to 
New  Mexico  to  buy  mules  and  such  supplies  as  could  be 
obtained  sooner  than  from  the  east.  Quite  a  number  of 
my  old  acquaintances  from  New  Mexico  came  through 
in  the  spring.  One  Lewis  Simmons,  son-in-law  of  Kit 
Carson,   came  in  charge  of  several   thousand  head   of 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 29 

sheep.  I  obtained  permission  of  him  to  shear  the  wool 
from  as  many  as  I  wished.  This  was  quite  a  privilege, 
as  wool  was  valuable. 

My  old  friends  and  acquaintances  were  much  sur- 
prised to  find  me  in  Utah  and  a  "Mormon,"  but  they  all 
treated  me  kindly,  and  as  often  as  I  have  met  them  do  so 
to  this  day.  Not  many  are  now  alive.  I  went  to  New 
Mexico  when  quite  young,  and  most  of  my  early  acquaint- 
ances were  older  than  myself;  few  of  them  but  lived 
differently  to  what  I  have,  so  at  the  present  day  I  am 
almost  the  only  one  living  of  the  pioneers  of  New 
Mexico. 

While  the  standing  army,  formerly  spoken  of,  was 
fitting  up,  I  commenced  working  at  the  saddler's  trade. 
This  I  had  pardy  learned  in  St.  Louis  before  going  to 
Mexico  ;  had  worked  in  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  learning 
something  of  the  Mexican  style  of  work.  Some  of  my 
friends  from  Santa  Fe  wanted  saddles  of  my  make,  as 
they  had  seen  some  good  work  of  mine  in  Mexico.  I 
made  and  sold  quite  a  number  of  saddles  to  them.  I 
now  commenced  to  make  this  my  business.  And  as 
''Dan  Jones,  the  saddler,"  is  well  known,  I  will  let  this 
answer  on  that  subject. 

The  coming  of  Johnston's  army  has  generally  been 
considered  a  money-ma,king  affair  to  this  community. 
To  me  it  has  always  been  a  question,  for  it  cost  a  great 
deal  to  bring  them.  However,  we  made  the  most  we 
could  of  a  bad  bargain,  and  got  what  we  could  out  of  the 
forced  speculation. 

There  is  one  circumstance  connected  with  my  ex- 
perience while  in  Echo  Canyon  service  which  I  wish  to 
put  on  record — the  killing  of  Yates  by  Bill  Hickman. 
This  Mr.  Yates  was  a  personal  friend  of  mine,  a  kind- 
hearted,  liberal  man  of  whom  I  had  received  many  kind- 

8 


130  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

nesses,  and  his  being  murdered  did  not  agree  with  my 
feelings,  but  I  knew  of  no  way  to  mend  the  matter,  for  I 
knew  nothing  of  the  killing  till  he  was  buried. 

I  was  camped  with  a  small  party  about  four  miles 
west  of  the  Weber  valley  and  ten  or  twelve  miles  from 
Echo.  One  very  cold  morning  about  sunrise,  Hickman 
and  two  others  came  to  my  camp.  They  seemed  almost 
frozen,  shaking  and  trembling  in  an  unusual  manner. 
Hickman  asked  me  if  I  had  any  whisky.  I  told  him  I 
had  not.  He  then  asked  if  we  had  coffee.  I  replied  that 
we  had.  "  Then  make  us  a  good  strong  cup."  While 
the  coffee  was  being  made,  he  took  me  outside  and  asked 
me  if  I  knew  Yates.  I  told  him  I  did.  "  Well,  we  have 
just  buried  him." 

He  then  told  about  Yates  being  taken  prisoner  for 
tampering  with  Indians.  And  after  talking  quite  excitedly, 
he  said,  ''We  have  got  away  with  him.  What  do  you 
think  the  Old  Boss,"  (meaning  Brigham)    "will  say?" 

Now  if  Yates  had  been  killed  as  Hickman  related  in 
his  book  he  would  not  have  manifested  so  much  interest 
in  what  President  Young  would  say.  He  tried  hard  to 
draw  an  approval  from  me  of  what  he  had  done.  I  told 
him  I  knew  nothing  about  such  modes  and  did  not  know 
what  Brother  Young  would  say  about  it. 

Hickman  killed  Yates  for  his  money  and  horse  the 
same  as  any  other  thief  and  murderer  would  have  done, 
and  then  excused  himself  by  telling  that  he  was  counseled 
to  do  these  things.  I  know  positively  that  Governor 
Y®ung's  orders  were  to  avoid  bloodshed  in  every  way 
possible.  I  was  continually  acting  and  around  in  places 
and  under  circumstances  that  gave  me  the  best  of 
opportunities  to  know. 

During  the  time  that  Johnston's  army  was  at  Bridger, 
there  was  an  effort  made  to  turn  the  Indians  against  the 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I3I 

Mormons.  This  partially  succeeded,  but  did  not  last 
long.  As  they  soon  got  tired  of  the  treatment  received 
from  their  new  friends. 

While  In  camp  near  the  head  of  Echo  Canyon  in 
May,  1858,  a  number  of  Weber  and  Goshutes  came 
and  camped  on  Yellow  creek  not  far  from  our  location. 
A  few  of  us  visited  them.  They  expressed  a  desire  to  be 
peaceable  with  the  Mormons.  A  meeting  was  appointed, 
they  agreeing  to  come  to  our  camp  and  talk  over  affairs 
and  make  satisfaction  for  some  things  they  admitted  hav- 
ing done.  At  this  conference  A.  Miner  presided, 
Abram  Conover  and  myself  acting  as  Interpreters.  I  do 
not  remember  all  that  was  said  at  the  time.  The  Indians 
acknowledged  having  committed  various  thefts,  at  the 
same  time  giving  their  reasons  for  having  done  so. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Troops  Ordered  from  Camp  Floyd  to  New  Mexico — I  am 
Solicited  to  Act  as  Guide — Through  the  Killing  of  an  Ox  I 
am  Charged  with  being  a  Traitor  to  the  Church — The  Trial 
— My  Acquittal — I  Desire  to  Return  Home,  but  am  Forced  to 
Continue  as  Guide. 

EARLY  in  the  spring  of  i860  orders  came  from 
Washington  for  a  portion  of  the  troops  at  Camp 
Floyd  to  move  to  New  Mexico  and  to  explore  a  wagon 
road  from  Salt  Lake  to  Santa  Fe,  naming  the  route,  as 
selected  by  the  map,  down  Little  White  river,  now 
Price  creek,  and  crossing  over  the  mouth  of  the  Dolores, 
thence  on  to  Santa  Fe.     On  the  old  maps  these  rivers 


132  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

showed  very  well  as  far  as  directions  went.  At  this  time 
I  was  the  only  person  in  Utah  that  knew  anything  of  the 
country  desired  to  be  explored,  and  my  knowledge  was 
limited  to  the  old  Spanish  trail  and  some  few  side  trails 
to  Indian  camps. 

The  offer  was  made  me  to  act  as  guide  for  the  expe- 
dition. I  declined  at  first  but  finally  consented  to  go  as 
far  as  Green  river  with  an  exploring  party  under  Lieut. 
Archer,  and  see  if  a  wagon  road  could  be  found  by  way 
of  Spanish  Fork  to  Green  river. 

We  succeeded  in  locating  a  road,  but  not  down 
Price  river.  We  left  that  river  to  the  right,  crossing 
the  plains  and  striking  the  river  at  the  lower  crossing. 
It  was  decided  to  put  a  working  force  of  soldiers  on  the 
route.  This  was  the  first  opening  of  Spanish  Fork  can- 
yon. I  agreed  to  go  as  far  as  Green  river  with  this 
campany,  with  the  privilege,  given  as  an  inducement  to 
get  me  to  go,  of  taking  along  a  trader's  wagon  under 
the  protection  of  the  command.  I  arranged  with  my 
brother-in-law,  S.  B.  Moore,  to  go  with  me  and  take  this 
wagon,  and  attend  to  the  trading  business,  we  being 
equal  partners  in  the  venture. 

While  working  in  Spanish  Fork,  making  road,  an 
ox  was  killed  by  a  soldier.  The  ox  belonged  to  a  setder 
in  Spanish  Fork.  Mr.  Moore  saw  the  soldier  shoot  the 
ox  and  told  me  about  it.  Next  day  John  Berry  came 
into  camp,  he  being  president  of  the  settlement,  and  in  a 
very  excited  manner  demanded  satisfaction  for  the  ox. 
The  commander,  Captain  Selden,  said  that  he  knew 
nothing  about  the  killing  and  asked  me  if  I  had  heard 
anything.  I  told  him  that  I  knew  who  had  killed  the  ox. 
Berry  wanted  the  man  brought  forward  at  once.  The 
captain  told  him  that  the  man  should  be  given  up  to  the 
civil   authorities   at  once  and  proper  restitution  made. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 33 

Berry  seemed  to  get  worse  and  worse ;  said  he  did  not 
want  any  thief  to  take  back  with  him,  but  wanted  to  see 
him  and  have  him  punished.  Captain  Selden  told  him 
that  the  army  regulations  defined  modes  for  even  bad 
men ;  that  everything  had  to  be  done  properly.  He 
advised  President  Berry  to  take  a  course  to  have  the 
man  either  arrested  or  else  to  leave  the  matter  to  him 
and  he  would  work  the  punishment  so  as  to  get  the  pay 
and  send  to  the  owner.  Berry  would  not  listen  to  any 
proposition  whatever.  Finally,  I  told  him  that  he  was 
unreasonable  and  that  I  would  not  point  out  the  man  to 
him,  but  would  to  the  captain  before  pay-day;  that  I 
would  bring  the  money  with  me  on  my  return,  and  that 
I  would  leave  it  to  Bishop  Miller,  the  presiding  bishop 
of  Utah  county,  whether  I  was  right  or  not. 

On  my  return  I  offered  to  pay  to  Berry  the  amount. 
He  would  not  accept  it  unless  accompanied  by  a  plea  of 
guilt  to  a  charge  already  preferred  against  me  before  the 
High  Council  of  being  a  traitor  to  the  Church,  aiding 
and  abetting  an  enemy  to  destroy  property  belonging  to 
a  brother  and  refusing  to  point  out  the  guilty  party 
when  called  on  to  do  so.  Taking  the  whole  charge 
together  it  was  too  steep  for  me.  That  I  had  refused  to 
point  out  the  party  was  a  fact,  and  I  was  willing  to  be 
judged  on  the  merits  of  the  refusal  when  all  the  reasons 
were  stated.     So  I  i-efused  and  was  brought  to  trial. 

The  charge  was  read  and  considerable  testimony 
given.  In  the  charge  the  price  of  the  ox  was  demanded. 
No  effort  was  made  to  oppose  this,  but  it  was  acknowl- 
edged and  offered  to  be  settled.  At  length  Bishop  Mil- 
ler, the  president,  stood  up  and  motioned  thaf  the  charge 
be  sustained.  This  aroused  me.  I  replied  to  the  Bishop's 
motion  in  an  excited  and  insulting  manner,  so  much  so 
that  he  motioned  that  Daniel  W.  Jones  be  cut  off  from 


134  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

the    Church  of   Jesus    Christ   of  Latter-day    Saints    for 
insulting  the  Priesthood. 

I  replied,  ''You  hold  on ;  you  cannot  do  it." 

''What  do  you  mean?"  he  asked. 

"I  mean  I  have  had  my  say;  I  am  done.  Now  you 
have  yours,  and  whatever  you  require  of  me  I  will  do. 
But  I  will  not  be  cut  off  from  the  Church  even  if  I  have 
to  acknowledge  to  the  charge." 

Here  Joseph  Clark  asked  permission  to  speak.  He 
said  he  did  not  think  the  charge  was  sustained  by  the 
evidence ;  some  others  spoke  the  same.  Finally  Bishop 
Miller  said  to  the  clerk,  "Read  the  charge  again."  On 
hearing  it  read  the  second  time  he  said:  "Oh,  I  do  not 
mean  to  sustain  the  charge  that  Brother  Jones  is  a  traitor 
or  anything  of  the  kind.  I  had  paid  no  particular  atten- 
tion to  that  part.  All  I  mean  is  that  Brother  Jones  pay 
for  the  ox  according  to  agreement." 

This  was  a  close  call  for  me,  but  I  saved  my  stand- 
ing and  honor.  If  I  had  said  nothing  probably  this  whole 
charge  would  have  went  on  record  as  it  was.  Inasmuch 
as  I  had  offered  to  pay  the  amount  sent  by  the  captain 
the  whole  charge  was  thrown  out. 

This  command  under  Selden  was  about  one  month 
working  a  road  through  to  Green  river.  We  had  a 
pleasant  time,  doing  well  with  our  trading.  We  were 
treated  well  by  both  officers  and  men.  Captain  Selden 
was  a  kind-hearted  officer,  without  any  prejudices  against 
the  "Mormons,"  although  he  was  of  one  those  ordered 
out  to  wage  a  war  against  the  people. 

On  arriving  at  Green  river  where  another  guide  was 
to  take  my  place,  we  found  he  was  not  there.  As  the 
man,  a  Mexican,  had  not  arrived  I  was  told  that  my  ser- 
vices would  be  required  the  balance  of  the  trip.  I  re- 
fused to  go.     Before  leaving   Utah  I  had  received  word 


i 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 35 

from  Brother  Brigham  that  he  did  not  wish  me  to  go  on 
this  trip.  George  W.  Bean  told  me  that  Brother  Young 
had  said,  '*  Tell  Brother  Jones  I  consider  him  one  of  my 
good  boys  and  I  do  not  want  him  to  go  off  into  that  dan- 
gerous country  and  risk  his  life  for  money."  I  knew  this 
to  be  the  best  of  counsel,  for  the  country  was  dangerous. 
The  Mexicans  of  New  Mexico  were  not  over  their  bad 
feelings  about  the  Indian  slave  trade.  The  ones  who  had 
profited  by  this  traffic  still  held  a  grudge  against  ''Mor- 
mons." This  I  had  learned  from  some  of  my  old  asso- 
ciates that  came  through  with  Colonel  Marcy.  Both  Utes 
and  Navajoes  were  uncertain  in  those  days,  particularly 
those  living  on  the  borders  of  New  Mexico.  There 
were  no  regular  mails  or  communications  in  those  days 
between  the  two  countries. 

Not  only  having  a  desire  to  respect  the  kindly 
advice  of  Brother  Brigham,  but  knowing  the  risk  we 
would  run,  I  declined  to  go  farther.  On  refusing, 
Colonel  Canby,  who  was  in  command,  instructed  his 
adjutant  to  tell  me  that  the  good  of  the  service  required 
me  to  goon  as  guide,  and  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
them  to  fill  the  orders  from  Washington  without  my  ser- 
vices ;  that  if  I  went  willingly  I  should  be  well  treated 
and  respected  and  that  my  brother-in-law  would  be 
employed  as  assistant  guide  ;  that  they  needed  our  wagon 
and  team  and  that  the  quartermaster  would  pay  us  for  it. 

I  still  refused,  telling  them  I  would  run  too  much 
risk  in  getting  back  to  Utah.  Colonel  Canby  then  prom- 
ised me  protection  and  mileage  home,  and  informed  me 
that  I  could  accept  the  terms  willingly  or  otherwise,  they 
would  have  to  keep  a  guard  over  me  to  see  that  I  did 
not  leave ;  neither  would  they  settle  with  me  for  services 
up  to  date.  I  have  several  affidavits  proving  these  facts. 
We  found  that  nothing  would  do  but  to  consent. 


136  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

The  main  command  under  Canby  intended  to  follow 
what  was  known  as  Lorin's  trail  up  the  Grand  river, 
cross  over  and  go  down  to  Fort  Garland,  while  a  com- 
pany under  Lieutenant  Stith  was  to  explore  the  Dolores 
river.  I  was  wanted  for  both,  but  as  this  could  not  be  I 
was  sent  on  the  Lorin  trail,  accompanied  by  a  sergeant 
and  an  Indian,  to  the  junction  of  the  Grand  and  Gunni- 
son rivers,  to  find  the  road  and  see  how  the  crossing  was. 

My  hopes  were  that  after  this  trip  and  finding  the 
road  all  right  to  this  point  that  I  could  get  off  and  return 
home,  but  not  so.  It  was  decided  that  we  had  to  go  on 
and  guide  the  exploring  expedition  through  on  the 
Dolores.  I  told  Canby  I  did  not  know  the  country.  No 
difference.  My  natural  ability,  with  my  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  country,  was  all  sufficient,  so  at  length  I 
gave  up  and  went  willingly.  The  most  of  the  officers 
treated  me  with  great  kindness  and  respect.  They  knew 
I  was  a  member  of  the  "Mormon"  church  and  often 
asked  me  questions  about  our  religion.  Many  evenings 
were  spent  in  chatting  about  Utah  affairs  in  a  very  pleas- 
ant and  agreeable  manner. 

After  crossing  Green  river  there  is  a  desert  of  fifty- 
five  miles  to  Grand  river.  The  troops  suffered  consider- 
able on  this  desert.  Some  few  leaving  the  road  to  hunt 
water  got  lost,  and  one  or  two  never  were  found ;  they 
either  perished  or  fell  into  the  hands  of  some  hostile 
Indians.  One  little  circumstance  showing  the  need  of 
understanding  something  of  their  language  or  signs  in 
dealing  with  Indians  happened  at  Green  river.  There 
were  quite  a  number  of  Utes  camped  below  the  crossing. 
These  Indians  came  into  camp  quite  often. 

One  day  I  noticed  a  crowd  of  soldiers  making  some 
curious  and  exciting  moves.  I  approached  to  see  what 
was   the   matter.     I    saw   an    Indian    standing,    holding 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 37 

something  in  his  hand  and  looking  rather  confused.  The 
soldiers  were  getting  a  rope  ready  to  hang  him ;  all  was 
excitement  and  I  am  satisfied  that  if  I  had  not  happened 
along  the  poor  Indian  would  have  been  swinging  by  the 
neck  in  less  than  five  minutes. 

I  could  see  from  the  Indian's  manner  that  he  realized 
something  was  wrong  but  could  not  understand  why  he 
was  surrounded  by  soldiers. 

I  asked  them  what  they  were  doing.  They  said  that 
the  Indian  had  brought  one  of  their  horses  that  he  had 
stolen  into  camp  and  sold  it  for  thirty  dollars ;  that  the 
owner  of  the  horse  was  there  and  they  were  intending 

to  hang  the  "d d  thief"     I  told  them  to  hold  on  a 

minute,  that  I  did  not  think  an  Indian  would  steal  a  horse 
and  bring  it  into  the  camp  where  it  belonged  to  sell. 
Some  one  answered,  ''Yes,  he  has;  there  is  the  money 
now  in  his  hand  that  he  got  for  the  horse." 

The  Indian  was  still  standing  there,  holding  the 
money  in  his  open  hand  and  looking  about  as  foolish  as 
ever  I  saw  one  of  his  race  look.  I  asked  him  what  was 
up.     He  said  he  did  not  know  what  was  the  matter. 

''What  about  the  horse  and  money?" 

He  answered,  "I  found  a  horse  down  at  our  camp. 
I  knew  it  belonged  to  the  soldiers  so  I  brought  it  up, 
thinking  they  would  give  me  something  for  bringing  it. 
This  man,"  pointing  to  one,  "came  and  took  hold  of  the 
horse  and  put  some  money  in  my  hand.  It  was  yellow 
money  and  I  did  not  want  it.  He  then  put  some  silver 
in  my  hand.  There  it  all  's.  I  don't  understand  what 
they  are  mad  about." 

I  soon  got  the  trouble  explained.  The  man  thought 
he  was  buying  the  horse,  the  Indian  thought  he  was  re- 
warding him  for  bringing  the  animal  to  camp ;  the  owner 
happened  along  just  as  the  trade  was  being  made.   Here 


138  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

ignorance  and  prejudice  came  near  causing  a  great  crime. 
As  soon  as  this  was  explained  I  took  the  money  and 
gave  it  back  to  the  owner.  No  one  had  thought  of  tak- 
ing the  money.  All  were  bent  on  hanging  the  honest 
fellow.  Soon  there  was  a  reverse  of  feeling;  most  of 
the  soldiers  in  the  crowd  being  Irish,  they  let  their  im- 
pulses run  as  far  the  other  way,  loading  the  Indian  with 
shirts  and  blouses.  Some  gave  him  money,  so  that  he 
went  away  feeling  pretty  well,  but  he  remarked  that  the 
soldiers  were  kots-tti-shu-a  (big  fools). 

I  have  often  thought  there  were  many  like  these  sol- 
diers, ''heap  kots-tu-shu-a,''  in  dealing  with  Indians. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 


Difficulty  in  Finding  the  Trail — The  Character  of  our  Commanding 
Officer — My  Discharge  as  Guide — A  Proposition  to  Kill  Stith — 
Rejected  by  Moore  and  Myself — Arrival  at  Santa  Fe — The  Con- 
fidence of  the  Quartermaster  in  Me. 

ON  ARRIVING  at  Grand  river  Stith's  outfit  was  pre- 
pared and  we  were  set  across  the  river  in  a  place 
entirely  unknown  to  me.  I  did  not  even  know  whether 
the  Dolores  river  was  above  or  below  me,  and  so  told 
the  officer.  There  was  a  point  known  as  the  bend  of 
Dolores  where  I  had  been,  but  from  where  we  were  to 
that  point  the  country  was  new  to  me.  I  had  no  definite 
idea  of  the  distance  but  knew  it  must  be  several  days' 
journey.  This  country,  as  the  name  of  the  river  implies, 
was  about  the  worst  country  I  ever  traveled  through. 
While  we  were  prospecting  to  see  if  we  could  get 
any  sight  of  the  river,  I  found  a  lone  Indian.      He  had 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 39 

been  out  all  alone  on  a  stealing  expedition  to  the  Navajo 
Indians,  had  got  a  few  horses  and  was  on  his  way  home 
to  Uintah.  After  much  persuasion  and  some  pay,  I 
induced  him  to  go  a  day's  travel  and  show  me  the  river 
and  put  me  on  the  trail  if  there  was  any. 

We  were  about  thirty  miles  above  the  Dolores 
where  it  empties  into  Grand  river.  On  arriving  at  the 
river,  we  found  a  trail  leading  up  it  for  only  a 
short  distance.  My  Indian  friend  described  the  country 
and  trails  to  me  so  that  I  felt  pretty  sure  of  getting  to  a 
place  with  which  I  was  acquainted. 

We  were  ten  days  reaching  the  bend  of  the  Dolores 
where  the  old  Spanish  trail  strikes  it,  but  does  not  cross. 
We  only  struck  the  river  twice  the  whole  distance.  It 
runs  through  box  canyons  most  of  the  way,  and  is 
unapproachable ;  so  the  wagon-road  ordered  explored  I 
do  not  think  will  be  made  yet  awhile. 

By  this  time  we  had  learned  the  character  of  our 
commanding  officer.  He  was  simply  a  ruffian  of  the 
worst  type.  I  had  to  watch  him  daily,  as  he  was  sus- 
picious of  being  led  into  ambush. 

We  had  met  one  party  of  Indians,  an  old  man  and 
family.  My  brother-in-law  was  acquainted  with  him,  he 
having  been  one  of  the  Grand  valley  company  that  was 
driven  away  by  the  Indians.  This  old  man  was  of  the 
peace  party,  and  told  Mr.  Moore  all  about  what  had 
happened,  after  they  were  driven  away.  Seeing  Moore 
friendly  and  talking  with  the  old  Indian  made  Stith  more 
suspicious  of  us.  He  often  hinted  that  it  would  be 
dangerous  for  us  if  we  ever  came  across  Indians  in  any 
number.  This  was  not  very  pleasant,  for  we  were  in  a 
country  where  a  great  many  Indians  roamed  and  we 
were  liable  to  run  across  a  lot  at  any  time,  but  as  good 
luck  would  have  it,  we  never  did.      We  always  believed 


140  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

that  if  we  had  run  into  an  Indian  camp  that  Stith  would 
have  attempted  to  take  our  Hves. 

The  soldiers  did  not  like  him,  neither  did  they  think 
as  he  did,  but  they  all  feared  him  as  he  had  shot  down 
some  of  his  company.  This  same  officer  had  shot  and 
killed  one  man,  who  had  given  out  and  could  not  travel. 
This  occurred  on  a  Texas  desert. 

My  intention  was  to  take  care  of  myself,  and  if  we 
had  met. any  Indians  to  see  that  I  was  not  harmed  if  a 
good  rifle  could  protect  me.  Moore  and  myself  watched 
him  all  the  time. 

We  arrived  at  the  Dolores  bend  at  eleven  o'clock 
a.  m.  I  recommended  camping.  Stith  said  he  had  not 
made  a  day's  march  and  would  not  camp.  I  said,  ''Then 
let's  noon." 

"No,  it  lacks  an  hour  of  noon;  we  must  travel  an 
hour  yet." 

I  told  him  I  wanted  time  to  get  my  reckoning,  as  I 
had  not  been  here  for  some  time  and  had  come  in  a  dif- 
ferent direction  from  what  I  had  done  before  and  that 
there  were  many  trails  leading  from  this  point  further 
north.  It  was  twenty  miles  to  the  next  water.  All  this 
would  not  induce  him  even  to  noon,  but  he  ordered  the 
march  to  continue. 

After  going  a  few  miles  he  asked  me  where  the 
water  was  for  noon.  I  told  him  that  all  the  water  we 
would  get  would  take  till  after  night  to  reach.  He  then 
notified  Moore  and  myself  that  we  were  discharged,  and 
that  there  was  a  Mexican  along  who  knew  the  road  bet- 
ter than  we  did.  I  told  him  allright,  to  pay  us  and  we 
would  turn  back.  This  he  refused  to  do,  saying  that  he 
intended  to  keep  us  along  in  case  the  Mexican  did  not 
know  the  country;  that  we  would  be  better  than  no 
guides. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I4I 

We  had  guided  this  company  210  miles,  through  a 
country  entirely  unknown  to  us,  in  ten  days'  time,  and 
the  infantry  with  packs  had  never  been  lost  or  failed  to 
get  good  camps.  Now,  after  getting,  for  the  first  time, 
on  a  good  trail,  we  were  discharged  for  not  finding 
water  for  noon  on  a  dry  desert  and,  as  before  stated, 
leaving  water  at  about  half-past  eleven.  So  much  for 
West  Point  discipline. 

After  discharging  us,  as  he  supposed,  Stith  put  his 
Mexican  guide  to  lead,  Moore  and  myself  following 
along  and  taking  it  easy.  We  were  in  no  way  concerned 
about  our  discharge,  for  the  quartermaster  had  told  me 
to  get  along  the  best  we  could  with  Stith,  but  if  we 
wanted,  when  we  got  into  Santa  Fe,  to  come  back  and 
meet  Canby's  command,  and  that  we  need  not  take  a 
discharge  from  Stith  unless  we  so  desired. 

They  now  left  the  trail,  at  night  taking  to  the  left 
over  a  dry  mesa ;  but  no  water  was  found.  There  was 
considerable  suffering  among  the  soldiers,  as  there  was 
no  water  for  coffee  or  cooking  and  but  little  to  drink. 
Here  the  company  planned  to  kill  Stith,  nearly  all  the 
company  agreeing.  They  sent  their  committee  to  Moore 
and  myself  with  the  proposition  that  Stith  and  the  Mexi- 
can guide  be  killed  together  with  all  that  would  not  sus- 
tain the  move,  and  that  we  were  to  guide  them  out  of 
the  country.  This  was  fully  determined  upon  and  we 
had  much  trouble  in  persuading  them  out  of  the  notion, 
but  finally  succeeded. 

Next  day  we  continued  our  journey,  arriving  at  the 
Mancos  river  much  later  than  we  would  have  done  had 
we  kept  the  trail.  Stith  soon  learned  that  the  Mexican 
knew  but  little  about  the  country.  After  crossing  the 
river  we  struck  a  big  trail  where  it  ascended  a  hill.  On 
getting   on   this    trail   Stith   made   some    very    insulting 


142  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

remarks,  saying  that  now   we   had  a  guide  who   knew 
something. 

On  reaching  the  top  of  the  hill  they  found  that  the 
trail  scattered,  being  a  hunting  trail  and  not  a  route. 
This  puzzled  the  guide,  who  was  the  one  that  had  taken 
the  wrong  direction.  I  here  got  my  ideas  clear,  and  for 
the  soldiers'  sake,  they  having  treated  us  kindly,  I  told 
Stith's  lieutenant  where  the  trail  was.  He  informed 
Stith,  who  was  now  willing  to  listen,  having  lost  faith  in 
his  Mexican.  We  soon  struck  the  old  trail.  We  could 
now  have  regained  our  positions  had  we  wished  to,  but 
we  agreed  with  Lieut.  Bristol,  who  was  a  real  good  fel- 
low, to  tell  him  every  morning,  when  necessary,  about 
the  trail  and  distance ;  but  not  to  speak  to  Stith  about 
anything,  and  go  along  as  though  we  cared  nothing 
about  the  road. 

After  this  Moore  and  I  had  a  pretty  good  time,  rid- 
ing along  without  any  responsibility ;  hunting  when  we 
liked  and  taking  it  easy.  We  had  many  a  good  laugh  at 
Stith's  expense,  for  if  we  started  out  of  a  morning  ahead 
he  was  afraid  to  lose  sight  of  us  for  fear  his  guide  would 
get  lost. 

One  morning,  while  traveling  on  a  nice,  plain 
trail,  up  a  wide,  smooth  flat,  Moore  and  I  started  up  a 
steep  mountain  side,  intending  to  follow  along  the 
mountain  ridge  and  kill  some  game.  We  had  gone  but 
a  short  distance,  without  any  trail  whatever,  when,  on 
looking  back,  we  saw  the  Mexican  guide  and  Stith  had 
left  the  trail  and  started  to  follow  us.  Bristol  was  in 
the  rear  with  the  pack  train. 

At  first  we  felt  like  letting  them  follow,  but  it 
seemed  too  hard  on  the  poor  foot  soldiers  to  play  them 
such  a  trick,  so  Steve  Moore  turned  round  and  called 
out,  "What  in  the  h —  are  you  following  us  for?"     Stith 


) 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 43 

wanted  to  know  if  we  were  not  on  the  trail.  Moore  told 
him  his  guide  ought  to  know  where  the  trail  was — that  it 
was  down  on  the  flat ;  to  go  back  and  not  be  following 
us  up  the  mountain. 

We  traveled  along  the  mountain  ridge  in  sight  of 
the  trail  most  of  the  day  watching  the  company.  They 
often  seemed  lost  and  would  stop  and  look  to  see  if  they 
could  see  us.  We  finally  came  into  the  trail  and  trav- 
eled along  with  the  command. 

On  arriving  at  the  first  settlement  Stith  got  drunk 
and  gambled  off  a  lot  of  money  that  he  expected  to  cover 
by  the  vouchers  I  would  sign  before  drawing  any  pay 
from  him. 

We  were  seventy  miles  from  Santa  Fe,  the  head- 
quarters where  we  were  to  report  to  Colonel  Fontleroy, 
the  commander. 

Stith  continued  his  spree  several  days,  so  Moore 
and  I  saddled  up  and  went  on  to  Santa  Fe  alone.  On 
reaching  that  place  I  found  many  old  friends,  among  the 
rest,  Manuel  Woods,  keeping  hotel.  He  was  an  old 
hotel  keeper  for  whom  I  had  kept  bar  during  my  first 
stay  in  Santa  Fe.  I  explained  our  situation  to  him,  stat- 
ing that  we  intended  to  wait  till  the  main  command  came 
in.  He  told  us  to  make  his  house  our  home  as  long  as 
we  desired,  and  we  could  have  all  the  money  we  wanted 
besides. 

My  old  friends,  John  Phillips,  H.  Stephens,  F.  Red- 
mond, and  many  others,  expressed  themselves  ready  to 
assist  us  in  any  way  possible. 

We  turned  our  mules  into  the  government  corral 
and  went  to  stop  at  the  hotel. 

Colonel  Fontleroy,  on  hearing  that  some  one  had 
arrived  from  Utah,  sent  for  us  to  come  to  his  office  the 
next  day.     There  had  been  some  uneasiness  felt  about 


144  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

the  company  we  had  traveled  with,  and  a  party  had  been 
sent  out  to  meet  them.  The  party  had  gone  as  far  as 
the  Dolores  and  returned. 

We  had  seen  their  tracks ;  I  wanted  to  follow  their 
trail,  knowing  it  to  be  white  men's  tracks.  Stith  took 
them  for  Indians'  and  refused  to  follow  me. 

On  meeting  the  colonel,  he,  in  a  very  pompous 
manner,  asked  me  who  I  was. 

I  replied,  "Daniel  W.  Jones." 

''Where  are  you  from?  " 

"Salt  Lake  City,  Utah." 

"How  did  you  come  here?" 

"On  a  mule." 

"What  is  your  business — in  what  capacity  have  you 
come?"  He  was  now  much  excited  and  asked  a  series 
of  questions  before  stopping. 

I  then  told  him  I  was  a  guide  in  government  employ. 

He  asked,  "Where  are  the  troops;  where  is  the 
command  you  are  guiding?" 

"The  last  I  saw  of  them  they  were  about  seventy 
miles  back.  The  commander  and  most  of  the  company 
drunk." 

"Why  are  you  not  with  them?" 

"I  don't  like  whisky,"  was  my  answer. 

I  felt  insulted  by  his  manner  in  first  speaking  so 
abruptly  to  me,  and  was  determined  not  to  give  him  any 
satisfaction  until  "he  spoke  to  me  in  a  respectable  man- 
ner. This  he  seemed  to  see  and  commenced  asking  his 
questions  more  politely.  I  gave  him  all  the  information 
I  could  about  the  moves  of  the  troops  on  the  road.  He 
now  approved  of  my  coming  ahead. 

When  Stith  arrived  he  made  out  my  account  and 
asked  me  to  sign  the  vouchers.  I  thanked  him,  telling 
him  that  I  did  not  need  any  money  and  did  not  wish  my 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 45 

discharge  just  then.  He  flew  into  a  terrible  passion,  say- 
ing that  he  could  not  settle  his  accounts  unless  I  signed 
the  vouchers.  I  replied  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  with 
settling  his  accounts,  all  I  wanted  was  my  transfer  back 
to  the  command.  This  he  refused  me,  so  we  went  and 
bought  two  mules  on  credit  and  went  back  to  the  com- 
mand. 

We  met  them  at  Taos.  The  quartermaster  was 
glad  to  see  us,  as  he  needed  our  services.  I  took  the 
position  of  both  guide  and  interpreter,  Moore  continuing 
as  assistant. 

We  got  into  the  farming  district  about  harvest  time. 
There  was  no  forage  to  be  had  except  fields  of  grain. 
These  were  bought  at  high  prices  when  animals  were 
turned  in  over  night  and  a  guard  placed  around  them. 
Often  the  animals  would  get  into  other  fields  doing  some 
damage.  The  Mexicans  made  great  complaint,  often 
asking  several  hundred  dollars  for  damages. 

The  pasturage  generally  cost  from  $150  to  ^200 
per  night.  The  quartermaster  would  generally  hand  me 
$500  and  tell  me  to  settle.  Sometimes  I  would  be  two 
or  three  hours  settling,  as  the  damage  sometimes  was 
on  various  patches. 

The  people  were  at  times  unreasonable  in  their 
demands.  When  I  could  not  get  a  reasonable  settle- 
ment I  would  refer  to  the  authority.  I  made  the  people 
understand  that  they  could  not  get  anything  only  what 
was  just  and  reasonable.  When  they  found  that  I  under- 
stood them  they  became  much  easier  to  deal  with. 

In  that  country  what  you  do  today  always  gets  to 
the  next  camping  place  before  you  do. 

When  all  my  accounts  were  settled  for  the  day  I 
would  hand  what  money  was  left  to  the  quartermaster, 
sometimes  it  would  be  over  $100. 


146  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

One  day  on  handing  him  the  money  he  said,  "Jones, 
you* re  a  d d  fool." 

-Why?"   I  asked. 

''That  money  is  already  accounted  for." 

I  did  not  take  the  hint  as  he  expected  I  would,  but 
continued  to  return  the  overplus. 

This  remark  to  me  was  made  in  kindness,  as  the 
quartermaster  was  a  great  friend  of  mine  and  wanted 
me  to  keep  the  money  for  myself,  but  I  did  not  think  it 
right.     It  would  never  have  done  me  any  good. 

When  we  arrived  in  Santa  Fe,  we  were  paid  off 
in  full  up  to  date,  and  mileage  allowed  ;  but  no  protec- 
tion was  furnished  for  our  return  home.  The  Navajoes 
had  just  broken  out  and  the  troops  had  been  ordered  to 
chastise  them.  The  good  of  the  service  now  required 
that  we  get  home  the  best  we  could.  Aside  from  this  we 
were  treated  in  the  best  manner  possible;  provisions 
being  given  us  by  the  quartermaster  and  some  valuable 
presents  by  other  officers. 

We  knew  that  our  chances  were  slim  for  getting 
back  safely.  To  make  things  as  safe  as  possible,  how- 
ever, we  bought  a  good  wagon  and  four  first  class  mules  ; 
loaded  up  with  Mexican  and  Navajo  blankets  and  other 
goods  believing  that  we  would  be  less  liable  to  get  rob- 
bed of  these  goods  than  if  we  carried  our  money  with 
us.  We  were  also  informed  by  some  friends,  who  had 
lately  come  in  from  Denver  that  blankets  of  this  kind 
were  in  good  demand  at  that  place.  There  was  a  great 
rush  for  Pike's  Peak  and  miners  and  prospectors  wanted 
these  blankets. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 47 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Leave  Santa  Fe  for  Home — Attacked  by  Robbers — A  Shower  of 
Bullets — A  Hard  Ride — Incidents  of  our  Journey — A  Novel 
Sign. 

WE  LEFT  Santa  Fe  about  the  loth  of  September, 
i860.  Two  youn^  men  that  came  through  from 
Utah,  whose  homes  were  in  the  States,  accompanied  us 
on  horseback.  They  were  well  mounted  and  we  were 
all  well  armed.  We  took  every  precaution  to  make  our- 
selves secure  against  thieves  stealing  our  stock,  or  tak- 
ing advantage  of  us  in  any  way. 

We  took  the  open  road  by  way  of  Las  Vegas,  Fort 
Union,  passing  along  the  Raton  mountains  and  con- 
tinuing on  without  molestation  of  any  kind  until  the 
evening  of  the  23rd,  when  we  were  attacked  and  rob- 
bed, the  particulars  of  which  I  shall  give  together  with 
our  trip  home  to  the  best  of  my  ability  and  recollection. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  a  creek  where  we 
intended  to  camp,  but  found  no  water.  We  had  traveled 
about  thirty  miles,  and  the  next  chance  for  camping  was 
several  miles  further  on.  Some  of  my  reflections  would 
not  be  amiss  here.  There  was  some  game  in  sight. 
We  killed  some  wild  turkeys.  My  companions  were  out 
after  antelope  and  I  was  alone  awaiting  their  return. 
We  were  now  quite  out  of  the  dangerous  country  to  all 
appearances,  having  traveled  over  three  hundred  miles 
without  disturbance.  We  were  now  where  it  was  con- 
sidered safe  for  any  one  to  travel.  Still  I  felt  uneasy.  I 
remembered  the  words  of  President  Young  and  I  never 
had  felt  entirely  safe  on  the  road.  In  my  reflections  I 
felt  as  though  I  would  rather  lose  what  I  had  made  than 


148  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

be  tempted  to  disobey  counsel  again,  by  being  success- 
ful. Still  I  was  in  hopes  we  could  keep  our  property, 
and  would  try  and  do  right  in  the  future.  I  asked  the 
Lord  to  direct  me  for  the  best,  but  to  spare  our  lives  on 
our  road  home. 

I  had  a  positive  feeling  that  we  were  in  danger. 
Shortly  before  sundown  we  started  on  intending  to  make 
a  night  drive  to  the  next  watering  place.  After  traveling 
a  short  distance  we  came  to  a  hollow  where  a  rain-storm, 
just  passing  over,  had  deposited  some  good  fresh  water, 
and  where  grass  and  fuel  were  plentiful.  On  approach- 
ing camp  we  descended  from  a  ridge  some  three  hundred 
yards  to  a  flat.  There  was  an  open  space  some  one 
hundred  yards  wide  to  the  right  of  the  road.  We  drove 
to  near  the  center  of  this  opening.  The  brush  around 
was  about  waist  high  and  not  very  thick.  I  commenced 
gathering  up  fuel,  the  others  unhitching  and  taking  care 
of  the  animals. 

After  getting  some  dry  brush  ready,  I  was  about 
striking  a  fire  when  we  heard  a  noise  of  horsemen  back 
on  the  road.  The  full  moon  was  shining  and  on  looking 
up  we  saw  some  eight  or  ten  horsemen  just  disappearing 
over  the  ridge,  going  from  us.  As  we  were  near  the 
road  and  had  neither  seen  nor  heard  any  one  passing, 
this  surprised  us  not  being  able  to  account  for  the 
move. 

Moore  and  myself  took  our  guns  and  went  up  to 
where  we  had  seen  them,  to  reconnoiter.  On  getting  to 
the  summit  of  the  ridge  we  could  see  the  tracks  plainly 
where  they  had  come  following  after  us,  and  on  seeing 
us  had  turned  suddenly  and  run  back.  They,  no  doubt, 
had  expected  us  to  continue  on  some  eight  miles  farther 
to  the  creek  before  camping,  and  had  run  on  us  unex- 
pectedly.    While  examining  these  tracks  and  trying  to 


FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 49 

solve  the  mystery,  we  heard  the  noise  of  horses  about 
two  hundred  yards  from  the  road,  and  discovered  a  small 
clump  of  cedars  in  the  direction,  being  on  the  same  side 
of  the  road  as  our  camp  and  just  back  from  the  summit 
of  the  ridge. 

We  decided  at  once  that  they  were  robbers  follow- 
ing us ;  that  they  were  tying  up  and  hiding,  intending  to 
creep  upon  us  afoot,  being  too  cowardly  to  make  an 
open  attack.  We  hurried  back  to  camp,  intending  to  try 
and  get  to  the  timber  on  the  creek.  I  gave  orders  to 
hitch  up  as  quickly  as  possible.  The  two  horsemen  were 
to  take  the  lead  and  run  where  the  road  was  good,  hold- 
ing back  where  rough.  I  was  to  drive  while  Moore  did 
the  fighting  from  the  wagon,  if  we  were  followed. 

Our  team  was  full  of  life,  so  much  so  that  we  had  to 
change  the  bits  on  the  leaders,  putting  on  heavy  curb- 
bits,  taking  off  the  common  ones  with  checks.  This  left 
the  driving  reins  alone  in  the  bits.  The  saddle  horses 
were  soon  ready,  one  man  holding  them  just  in  front  of 
the  team,  three  of  us  hitching  as  fast  as  possible.  The 
mules  commenced  looking  in  the  direction  of  the  clump 
of  cedars,  now  and  then  looking  along  the  edge  of  the 
brush  around  us.  I  remarked  that  I  believed  they  were 
surrounding  us.  Just  as  I  was  about  taking  the  lines  in 
hand,  the  team  being  all  hitched  except  the  wheel  mules' 
traces,  a  shot  was  fired.  I  thought  it  came  from  one  of 
our  own  party,  so  near  by  it  seemed.  I  asked,  "Who 
was  that  shooting?  " 

Moore  answered,  "You  know  as  much  about  it  as 
I  do." 

Suddenly  several  shots  were  fired.  At  this  the 
mules  started  on  the  full  run.  I  grabbed  the  nigh  leader. 
The  two  men  with  horses  now  had  hold  of  them,  but 
were  not   mounted.     All   ran   together,   making  a   half 


150  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

circle  back  to  the  road  about  where  we  turned  out, 
Moore  holding  to  the  off  wheeler. 

As  we  ran  the  shots  came  thick  and  fast  from  the 
brush,  clear  along  the  half-circle  up  to  the  road.  Just  as 
we  struck  the  road,  crossing  it  to  the  west — our  direction 
of  travel  being  to  the  north— shots  commenced  coming 
from  the  left  side,  one  striking  and  killing  the  nigh 
wheel  mule.  This  stopped  the  team,  as  the  leaders  alone 
could  not  pull  the  wagon  and  drag  the  dead  mule. 

The  shots  were  now  coming  thick  and  fast  from  all 
sides.  The  lead  mules  were  trying  to  get  away.  I 
called  to  Moore  to  cut  the  breast  strap  of  the  dead  mule 
so  that  the  leaders  could  continue  toward  open  ground. 
He  made  a  strike  or  two  with  his  knife,  but  while  doing 
so  the  off  wheeler  fell  dead.  An  instant  after  the  off 
leader  fell.  I  now  had  hold  of  the  only  mule  left  stand- 
ing. 

The  two  horsemen  were  just  in  front  of  the  team, 
and  when  it  stopped  they  halted  also.  One  of  them, 
Daniel  Dafney,  I  shall  always  remember  for  his  coolness 
and  courage.  I  felt  like  giving  the  word  to  run  and 
abandon  the  team,  but  knowing  that  we  were  some 
eight  hundred  miles  from  home,  did  not  much  like  the 
prospect  of  footing  it  through. 

Moore  raised  his  gun  to  shoot.  I  told  him  not  to 
do  so,  as  they,  no  doubt,  would  make  a  rush  for  us  if  we 
fired.  In  those  days  muzzle-loaders  were  all  we  had. 
One  of  the  horsemen  had  a  rope  knocked  from  his  hand 
with  a  bullet.  On  this  he  said  to  Dafney,  'Tt  is  getting 
too  hot,  let's  run." 

Dafney  replied,  'T  will  not  leave  till  all  leave." 

Just  at  this  the  off  leader  sprang  up,  not  having  been 
injured  much,  only  grazed  across  the  loins.  I  spoke  to 
Moore,  telling  him  to  cut  the  mule  out  of  the  harness. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I5I 

and  I  would  do  the  same  with  the  nigh  one,   and  we 
would  try  to  get  away. 

Dafney  came  and  assisted  each  of  us  in  getting  our 
mules  out  of  the  harness.  The  most  of  the  shots  being 
directed  toward  the  team,  Dafney  ran  ten  times  more 
risk  in  coming  to  our  assistance  than  if  he  had  remained 
in  front. 

The  lead  mules  were  fine  large  animals  and  full  of 
life.  They  were  terribly  frightened  at  the  shooting, 
which  continued  almost  without  ceasing.  Once  I  called 
to  them  to  stop  shooting ;  that  there  was  ho  need  of  kill- 
ing us,  as  they  were  strong  enough  to  come  and  take 
what  they  wanted.  This  I  spoke  in  Spanish.  No  reply, 
except  a  stronger  volley  of  shots. 

The  mule  I  had  hold  of  had  never  been  ridden,  but 
there  was  no  time  for  "swapping  horses."  Each  of 
us  had  heavy,  old-fashioned  .  rifles.  I  got  a  little 
the  start  of  Moore,  as  Dafney  assisted  me  first.  My 
mule  had  a  long  rope  tied  to  his  neck,  and  when  I 
mounted  and  started  with  the  rope  dragging  it  tangled  in 
the  harness,  bringing  my  mule  to  a  sudden  halt.  I  man- 
aged to  untie  the  rope  from  his  neck.  While  doing  this 
Dafney  succeeded  in  helping  Moore  with  his  mule,  which 
was  almost  unmanageable.  We  finally  all  got  about  an 
even  start.  The  balls  were  still  coming  thick  and  fast, 
the  robbers  having  advanced  up  as  near  as  possible  with- 
out coming  into  open  ground.  Some  of  them  being 
within  thirty  yards  of  us. 

Our  road  led  to  the  north,  but  was  blocked,  the  fir- 
ing coming  from  every  direction  but  the  west,  where 
there  was  no  brush.  Our  animals  needed  no  guiding. 
As  soon  as  they  were  free  to  run  they  broke  with  full 
speed  to  get  away  from  the  shots.  It  would  be  hard  to 
tell  which  was  the  most  frightened,   we  or  the  mules. 


152  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Most  of  the   shooting  was  done  with  revolvers.     The 
mules  soon  took  the  lead  of  the  horses. 

The  prairie  had  many  badger  holes  and  broken 
spots  and  my  mule  came  near  throwing  me  several  times 
in  dodging  them.  I  had  not  removed  the  mule's  collar, 
and  when  I  could  scarcely  stick  on  for  these  side  plun- 
ges I  ran  my  arm  under  it,  taking  my  gun  in  my 
hand  and  clinching  it  tight.  This  steadied  me  so  that  I 
felt  safe. 

After  running  some  distance  my  mule  commenced 
to  act  as  though  he  was  wounded  and  about  to  fall. 
This  continued  for  several  minutes,  giving  us  much 
uneasiness,  but  he  soon  recovered  himself  He  must 
have  been  in  pain  from  excitement,  as  he  was  not 
wounded. 

Moore  and  I  were  now  neck  and  neck  on  the  lead, 
going  at  full  speed.  I  asked  him  to  turn  to  the  north 
and  get  our  right  direction  of  travel.  He  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  my  words,  so  I  repeated  them  rather  sharply, 
when  he  answered,  '*D n  it,  turn  to  the  north  your- 
self, I  cannot  turn  my  mule  any  more  than  a  saw-log." 
We  found  we  were  much  like  the  old  parson  who  yoked 
himself  to  the  calf,  we  were  running  away  in  spite  of 
ourselves. 

On  looking  back  we  saw  that  the  horsemen  were 
about  twenty  yards  in  the  rear.  I  called  and  asked  them 
if  their  horses  were  under  control.  They  answered,  *'Yes." 

"Then  ride  up  and  take  the  lead." 

They  answered  that  our  mules  were  too  fast  for 
them,  so  we  managed  to  check  their  speed  a  little.  The 
horsemen,  whipping  up,  at  length  got  the  lead,  when 
they  turned  to  the  north  in  the  direction  we  wished  to 
travel.  Shortly  after  turning  to  the  north  we  came  to  a 
clump  of  cedars.     Here  Moore  and  I  tried  hard  to  per- 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 53 

suade  our  companions  to  stop,  tie  up  and  go  back  with 
us  and  creep  on  to  the  robbers,  believing  we  could  sur- 
prise and  whip  them.  This  we  could  not  prevail  on 
them  to  do.  We  continued  on  some  few  miles,  coming 
to  the  creek  bank  where  it  was  so  steep  that  we  could 
not  cross.  This  forced  us  to  go  down  toward  the  road, 
which  we  finally  struck. 

I  now  became  for  the  first  time  thoroughly  fright- 
ened. During  the  whole  scene  that  I  have  been  describ- 
ing, I  had  never  felt  much  fear.  While  I  was. untying 
the  rope  the  balls  came  so  thick  that  the  flesh  on  my  ribs 
twitched  a  little.  Moore  says  he  could  not  help  dodging 
when  the  bullets  flew  so  thick  and  close.  Dafney  laughed 
and  asked  if  he  thought  he  could  dodge  them. 

It  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  for  the  robbers 
to  have  come  on  and  got  to  the  crossing  ahead  of  us, 
and  ambushed  us,  as  the  brush  was  thick  on  each  side  of 
the  road.  This  I  fully  realized  and  insisted  that  we 
should  not  take  the  road,  but  to  no  purpose.  The  others 
felt  that  we  had  got  clear  and  that  it  would  be  best  to 
keep  on  to  the  next  ranch,  some  forty  miles  distant. 
This  we  reached  about  sunrise. 

Moore  and  I  rode  all  night  bareback,  most  of  the 
time  on  a  hard  trot. 

We  arrived  at  Zan  Hicklin's  on  the  Green  Horn 
river  early  in  the  morning.  Hicklin  was  an  old  acquaint- 
ance and  treated  us  kindly,  furnishing  us  with  saddles 
and  blankets,  and  such  provisions  as  we  could  take.  We 
stayed  with  him  three  days  before  we  were  able  to  travel 
on,  being  so  sore  from  our  bareback  feat. 

The  night  after  our  arrival  Hicklin  sent  back  a  man 
to  where  we  were  robbed.  The  man  reported  finding 
the  wagon  all  right,  with  a  sack  of  bacon  and  some 
horse  feed ;  also  the  dead   mules  and  some  parts  of  the 


154  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

harness,  all  the  light  straps  being  taken.  From  all  the 
signs  we  judged  the  robbers  to  be  Mexicans.  Hicklin 
offered  to  get  the  wagon  for  us,  but  we  felt  like  getting 
home  the  quickest  and  best  way,  and  thought  best  to 
take  it  muleback.  So  we  told  Hicklin  to  get  the  wagon 
and  keep  it. 

When  we  started  on  we  had  but  little  money  and 
very  poor  clothes,  as  we  were  saving  our  good  ones  that 
we  had  bought  in  Santa  Fe  until  we  got  home ;  but  we 
had  two  first  class  mules,  about  as  fine  ones  as  are  often 
seen,  and  we  made  up  our  minds  to  make  as  quick  a  trip 
home  as  possible.  Our  friends  Dafney  and  companion 
were  well  mounted ;  they  were  going  the  same  road  as 
far  as  Denver.  They  got  away  with  several  hundred 
dollars,  carried  on  their  persons. 

Moore  and  I  had  expended  our  cash  all  but  a  few 
dollars.  Our  friends  were  liberal  while  we  traveled  to- 
gether paying  most  of  the  expenses. 

The  country  was  just  being  settled.  There  was  but 
one  house  where  Pueblo  now  is,  besides  the  old  shanties 
where  the  Mormon  Company  wintered  in  1846-47.  From 
Pueblo  to  Denver  there  were  a  few  new  farms  just 
started.  There  were  several  cities  by  name  but  no  one 
living  in  them.  These  were  started  to  boom  some  min- 
ing camps,  but  the  prospect  failing  the  city  also  was 
abandoned.  Some  of  these  places  are  only  remembered 
by  a  few  of  the  old  prospectors,  never  having  been  put 
upon  record. 

We  stopped  one  night  with  quite  a  pleasant,  thrifty 
settler,  on  the  Fountain  Creek.  During  the  evening  he 
told  us  that  he  had  lost  quite  a  number  of  horses,  some 
thirty  or  forty  head,  mostly  good  American  mares  and 
young  stock ;   he  had  spent  much  time  hunting  them  and 


• 

I 


FORTY    YP:ARS    AMONG    THK    INDIANS.  I  55 

finally  given  them  up,  supposing  that  they  had  been 
stolen,  and  taken  entirely  out  of  the  country. 

The  road  from  this  place  continued  on  up  Fountain 
creek  for  some  thirty  miles  then  crossed  over  and  down 
to  Cherry  creek ;  estimated  eighty-five  miles  from  this 
place  to  the  next  station,  where  we  could  find  a  stopping 
place.  This  looked  like  having  to  camp  out.  Something 
we  were  not  prepared  to  do.  Again,  we  still  were  timid 
not  having  recovered  from  our  stampede.  We  felt 
much  better  when  in  a  safe  place. 

Our  landlord  told  us  of  a  more  direct  route,  that  he 
had  recommended  to  different  ones  and  tried  to  get 
opened  through,  that  would  shorten  the  distance  about 
half  from  his  place  to  Cherry  City.  There  was  no  trail 
through,  but  the  country  looked  open  and  favorable,  and 
as  our  host  had  been  kind  to  us  and  manifested  quite  a 
desire  to  have  us  go  through,  after  receiving  his  direc- 
tions and  locating  the  points  where  the  country  showed 
best,  we  started  out. 

After  traveling  about  forty  miles  we  saw  quite  a 
bunch  of  horses.  On  approaching  them  we  discovered, 
from  the  brands  and  descriptions  given  us,  that  they  were 
the  lost  stock  of  our  kind  entertainer. 

Not  long  after  seeing  the  horses  we  struck  the  main 
road,  having  saved  many  miles  of  travel  as  our  route 
was  almost  direct,  while  the  old  road  was  very  crooked. 
Soon  after  striking  the  road  we  met  a  train,  by  which 
we  sent  a  note  to  the  owner  where  his  horses  were. 

After  getting  home  we  received  a  letter  acknowledg- 
ing our  act  and  saying  the  animals  were  his.  I  have  for- 
gotten the  name  of  the  owner  of  the  stock,  but  have  often 
thought  of  the  circumstance,  for  I  will  admit  that  we 
were  tempted  at  first  to  try  to  make  something  out  of 
the  find. 


156  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Notwithstanding  our  loss  and  sore  feelings  we  found 
much  on  the  trip  to  amuse  and  entertain  us.  Two  of 
us  were  Missourians — Dafney  and  I,  the  other  two  were 
Yankees.  The  settlers  along  the  route  were  mixed, 
some  Missourians,  others  eastern  people.  The  question 
generally  was,  shall  we  stop  with  a  dirty  Missourian  or 
a  stingy  Yankee  ?  We  finally  agreed  to  take  it  time 
about  as  much  as  possible.  Various  signs  were  put  up 
along  the  road  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  traveler, 
one  I  remember  read  something  like  this:  ^'Bran,  coal, 
pies,  hay,  whisky,  eggs  and  other  fruit." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


Martin's  Cruel  Treatment  of  Us — Baker's  Kindness — Our  Journey 
Home — Reception  by  our  Families — Our  Claim  against  the 
Government. 

WE  expected  to  get  some  assistance  from  a  man  by 
the  name  of  William  Martin,  whom  we  were 
acquainted  with.  He  had  been  at  Provo  merchandising, 
but  had  moved  to  Denver. 

On  arriving  in  Denver  and  meeting  Martin,  we  told 
him  our  situation.  He  very  readily  said  we  could  have 
what  we  wanted,  and  asked  how  much  we  would  need. 
I  told  him  twenty-five  dollars  would  answer.  Tt  was 
about  noon  and  he  said,  "Wait  and  have  some  dinner, 
then  you  can  go  on. 

He  stepped  out  but  returned  in  a  few  minutes,  ask- 
ing, "Whose  fine  mules  are  those  under  the  shed?" 

I  replied,  "They  are  ours." 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 57 

He  said,  "They  are  fine  mules;  I  will  give  you  a 
good  trade  for  them."  And  then  offered  us  a  pair  of 
ponies  and  twenty-five  dollars. 

I  told  him  they  were  all  we  had  left  of  what  we  had 
earned  during  our  trip ;  that  we  were  anxious  to  get 
home  as  soon  as  possible,  and  that  they  would  carry  us 
better  than  the  ponies  would.  I  knew  the  ponies  well 
that  he  offered  us.  He  insisted  on  the  trade.  We 
declined  as  the  mules  were  worth  at  least  $400,  while 
the  ponies  were  not  worth  over  $75.  If  he  gave  us  the 
$25  difference  he  would  still  get  at  least  $300  for  noth- 
ing. Finally,  when  we  would  not  trade,  Martin  said  he 
had  no  money  to  loan. 

He  had  a  large  provision  store,  and  I  said,  "Then 
let  us  have  a  little  provisions  and  we  will  go  on." 

He  replied  that  he  was  selling  on  commission  and 
could  let  nothing  go  without  the  money.  If  ever  two 
men  felt  indignant  we  did.  We  had  parted  company 
with  our  friends,  the  two  horsemen.  They  still  had 
plenty  of  money.  They  doubtless  would  have  given  us 
some  had  we  asked  them,  but  we  were  sure  of  getting 
'some  from  Martin.  I  also  had  several  old  acquaintances 
in  Denver  who,  no  doubt,  would  have  helped  us,  but  we 
felt  now  like  asking  no  assistance  from  any  person. 

We  had  just  forty  cents  and  were  four  hundred 
miles  from  old  Jack  Robinson's  camp  at  Bridger.  We 
know  he  would  not  turn  us  away.  My  answer  to  Martin 
was  "  Bill  Martin,  you  see  these  two  mules  ;  they  are 
better  animals  than  you  ought  to  own.  It  is  only  four 
hundred  miles  to  Jack  Robinson's  ;  they  will  carry  us  there 
in  four  days  ;  we  can  starve  that  long  and  you  can't  have 
the  mules.     Good  day." 

We  bought  forty  cents  worth  of  cheap  cakes  and 
started  out  with  the  expectation  of  going  hungry.     As 


158  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

we  crossed  the  bridge  spanning  the  Arkansas  river,  the 
roads  forked.  We  enquired  of  a  lad  which  road  to  take 
naming  our  direction.  He  said  either,  but  that  the 
left  hand  road  went  out  five  miles  to  Jim  Baker's  ranch. 
Here  was  a  chance.  Jim  Baker  was  an  old  friend  that  I 
had  often  met  on  the  plains.  I  had  taken  care  of  his 
brother,  when  snow-blind,  while  we  were  at  Devil's  Gate, 
so  we  concluded  to  go  there  and  see  if  Baker  would  be 
like  Martin. 

On  arriving  we  were  welcomed  in  the  true,  old- 
mountaineer  style.  Although  grass  was  abundant,  he 
turned  our  mules  into  his  oat  field.  We  told  him  about 
Martin,  and  he  said,  "Well  now,  I  will  go  into  town 
every  Saturday,  get  drunk,  and  abuse  Martin  for  this 
until  I  run  him  out  of  the  country.  I  will  never  let  up 
on  him.     Why  he  aint  fit  to  live." 

Baker  had  his  squaw  fix  us  up  some  food  ;  all  we 
would  take.  Next  morning  we  started  on  feeling  much 
better  than  when  leaving  Denver.  We  met  with  others 
along  the  road  who  supplied  our  wants. 

While  at  Bitter  creek  one  of  our  mules  got 
poisoned  with  bad  water.  We  got  him  as  far  as  Jack 
Robinson's  camp,  leaving  him  and  getting  another. 

On  reaching  Bridger,  we  overtook  a  government 
outfit  coming  into  Camp  Floyd — Captain  Clery  and  escort. 
The  Captain  was  on  his  way  to  relieve  the  then  acting 
Quartermaster.  He  offered  to  supply  us  if  we  would 
travel  with  him  as  they  did  not  know  the  road.  We 
traveled  with  him  two  days  receiving  the  best  of  treat- 
ment from  officers  and  men.  Our  route  led  down  Provo 
Canyon.  I  had  a  number  of  acquaintances  in  this  valley; 
among  the  number  Melvin  Ross  who  lived  at  the  head  of 
the  valley.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  means.  I 
told    Moore   we  would  go  and  camp  with  him,   telling 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 59 

how  welcome  we  would  be.  There  was  a  sergeant  in 
the  company  who  knew  the  road  from  Weber.  Neither 
Moore  nor  myself  had  traveled  the  road  from  Weber  to 
Provo  valley.  We  went  ahead  and  took  the  wrong  road 
so  that  we  lost  several  miles  in  getting  back  to  the  Provo 
road.  In  the  meantime  the  soldiers  passed  on  and  got 
ahead  of  us.  This  plagued  us  a  little  but  we  concluded 
to  keep  it  to  ourselves.  When  we  finally  arrived  at 
Ross's  ranch  we  found  the  soldiers  had  passed  and  were 
camped  a  short  distance  down  the  road. 

Ross  was  out  in  front  of  his  house  just  laying  out 
a  big  fat  mutton  dressed.  He  knew  me  but  spoke 
rather  coolly  for  an  old  friend,  but  asked  us  to  get  down. 
I  told  him  we  would  like  to  stop  and  get  something  to 
eat  and  stay  all  night,  but  that  we  were'without  money. 
He  replied  that  we  had  some  good  ropes  and  blankets. 
I  told  him  we  needed  them,  as  we  might  go  on  down 
the  canyon  and  camp,  for  we  were  anxious  to  get  home  to 
our  families.  He  said  there  was  good  camping  down 
the  canyon.  I  thought  he  was  doing  this  simply  to  joke 
us,  but  not  so.  We  finally  started  on,  but  expecting  to 
be  called  back  and  laughed  at. 

Moore  commenced  laughing  at  me,  saying,  ''That's 
your  friend,  is  it?" 

I  said,  "He'll  call  us  back;  he  cannot  mean  this  only 
as  a  joke." 

Moore  said,   "Nary  a  joke;  that  man's  in  earnest." 

I  felt  just  about  as  bad  as  I  ever  remember  to  have 
felt.  We  had  been  running  the  gauntlet  for  several 
hundred  miles  among  strangers,  looking  forward  with 
great  expectations  on  reaching  friends  at  home.  We 
had  traveled  forty-five  miles  since  eating.  This  we  told 
Ross,  but  not  a  bite  would  he  let  us  have  unless  we  gave 
him  a  rope  or  blanket.     This  seemed  so  mean  that  we 


l6o  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

would  rather  have  traveled  all   next  day  without  food 
than  to  ask  anyone  again. 

When  we  came  up  to  the  soldier  camp  they  asked 
us  to  stop  and  have  supper.  Our  mules  were  fed  oats 
and  turned  out.  We  said  nothing  about  the  grand  (?) 
reception  we  had  had,  as  we  were  ashamed  to  mention 
it.  We  stayed  till  about  eleven  o'clock  and  then  went 
on  down  the  canyon  and  laid  out  a  short  distance  from 
several  old  friends  and  acquaintances.  We  dared  not  call 
on  anyone ;  so  early  next  morning  we  started  for  our 
homes  in  Provo,  joking  each  other  often  and  wondering 
if  our  wives  would  treat  us  as  Ross  had. 

We  had  made  considerable  money;  every  one  of 
our  acquaintances  expected  us  back  with  plenty.  Of 
course,  our  wives  expected  us  to  come  home  benefitted 
by  the  summer  s  trip.  But  all  was  lost  and  we  were 
ragged  and  worn,  and  presented  anything  but  a  dudish 
appearance.  I  will  not  do  our  wives  the  injustice  to  say 
that  we  felt  any  doubt  of  the  reception  we  would  receive 
at  home.  They  were  sisters  and  two  as  good  and  faith- 
ful women  as  ever  existed.  We  had  no  fears,  although 
we  made  many  propositions  suggestive  of  their  shutting 
us  out. 

Our  reception  was  such  as  true  wives  always  give — 
all  the  more  kind  because  of  our  misfortune.  I  do  not 
think  I  ever  heard  a  word  of  regret  spoken  by  either  of 
them  for  the  loss  of  our  property,  so  thankful  were  they 
for  our  lives  being  spared  under  the  great  risk  we  ran. 

I  wrote  on  to  Canby's  adjutant,  who,  during  the 
winter,  was  sent  down  to  Washington.  About  the  time 
the  Civil  war  broke  out  I  got  a  letter  stating  that  I  would 
get  the  money  for  our  losses.  But  the  officer  attend- 
ing to  it  was  probably  killed  in  the  war,  as  I  never 
heard  any  more  from  him. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  l6l 

Many  of  the  military  officers  to  whom  I  have  related 
the  circumstance  of  our  being  pressed  into  service  tell 
me  the  claim  can  be  collected;  it  certainly  is  due  to  us, 
for  we  have  never  as  yet  received  any  benefit  for  our 
services. 

Acting  on  the  suggestions  of  some  of  the  army 
officers  I  got  together  sufficient  affidavits  to  establish  the 
facts  here  recorded  making  my  claim  according  to  facts. 
My  papers  were  all  returned  to  me  with  the  statement 
that  inasmuch  as  we  were  robbed  by  parties  other  than 
Indians,  that  nothing  could  be  done  for  us. 

Some  have  advised  me  to  change  my  papers  and 
say  that  Indians  were  the  depredators,  and  make  the 
claim  accordingly.  This  I  shall  not  do  as  there  is  enough 
laid  to  the  Indians  already.  If  I  ever  get  anything  it  will 
be  on  the  justice  of  the  claim  just  as  it  occurred  and  not 
by  charging  it  to  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Duties  at  Home — Building  the  Provo  Canyon  Road — Indulge  in  a 
Row — Move  to  Salt  Lake  City — The  Black  Hawk  War — List  of 
the  Slain — No  Help  from  the  U.  S.  Troops. 

AS  I  DO  not  consider  an  acccount  of  my  home  life 
of  any  particular  interest  to  the  generel  reader,  I 
will  give  only  a  brief  sketch  of  it. 

On  returning  and  settling  up  with  Bachman  and 
Hanks,  who  had  furnished  much  of  our  trade  supply,  I 
found  I  would  have  to  sell  my  home  to  pay  them. 

In  1 86 1,  I  went  to  Provo  valley  and  took  up  land  on 


1 62  FORTY    YEARS    A^tONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Snake  creek,  where  I  fenced  a  farm,  built  a  house,  and 
corrals  and  raised  a  crop  of  wheat  and  potatoes  and 
while  binding  wheat  had  to  wear  a  heavy  coat  and  woolen 
mittens  as  the  weather  was  so  cold.  After  gathering  in 
my  crop,  I  concluded  to  return  to  Provo  and  work  at 
sadlery,  expecting  to  go  back  in  the  spring  and  continue 
farming. 

During  the  early  spring  a  flood  come  and  destroyed 
the  road  through  Provo  Canyon,  stopping  all  travel.  In 
the  fall  of  1862,  a  company  was  organized  to  rebuild  the 
road,  the  funds  being  furnished  by  voluntary  contribution. 
Shadrick  Holdaway,  Chas.  Kenedey,  and  I  were  chosen 
as  committee  ;  !  being  selected  as  secretary  and  treasurer. 
Having  taken  the  work  in  hand  it  was  pushed  forward 
with  considerable  force.  I  was  greatly  interested  as  I 
wished  to  get  back  to  my  farm  and  could  only  do  so  by 
going  round  by  Salt  Lake  City  and  through  the  Park 
to  the  valley,  a  distance  of  nearly  one  hundred  miles, 
while  the  direct  route  was  only  twenty-five  miles. 
Neither  did  I  wish  to  be  cut  off  from  Provo,  which  I  con- 
sidered my  real  home.  Many  times  I  found  funds  hard  to 
raise,  so  much  so,  that  finally,  in  a  tight-place  I  sold  my 
farm  to  help  oh  the  road  ;  so  that  by  the  time  the  road 
was  finished  and  paid  for,  I  had  no  individual  use  for  it. 
But  like  many  others  of  my  labors  for  public  good,  my 
pay  was  in  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  work  finished  so 
as  to  be  of  use.  To  illustrate  my  situation  and  extremes 
in  making  payments  I  will  relate  one  circumstance. 

The  whole  funds  contributed  were  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  contributors  until  wanted,  all  donations  being 
named.  Some  donated  flour,  others  potatoes,  wood, 
lumber,  and  any  and  everything  in  the  shape  of  produce 
being  on  the  list.  When  jobs  on  the  road  were  finished 
and  accepted  by  the   two   other   committee  men,    they 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


•63 


would  draw  an  order  on  the  treasurer,  who  would  have 
to  draw  on  the  contributors.  Sometimes  the  means 
would  not  be  just  ready  to  the  day,  but  almost  invariably 
donators  paid  honorably.  In  fact  I  have  no  remembrance 
of  a  single  instance  where  agreements  made  were  not 
fulfilled  in  good  time. 

There  was  one  company  of  Welshmen  that  took  a 
contract  amounting  to  twelve  hundred  dollars.  The 
committee  docked  them,  their  job  not  being  up  to  con- 
tract. This  soured  them  so  much  that  they  sought  to 
make  trouble  with  me  about  their  pay,  allowing  me  no 
time  whatever  to  settle  up  in  the  usual  manner.  After 
paying  all  but  some  fifty  dollars,  I  asked  a  little  time  to 
see  who  was  ready  to  pay  that  amount.  I  was  given  to 
understand  that  not  much  time  would  be  allowed,  so  I 
gave  them  an  order  where  I  supposed  it  would  be  paid, 
but  the  party  not  being  quite  ready  asked  them  to  wait  a 
few  days  and  he  would  settle.  This  they  would  not  do, 
but  three  of  them  returned  to  my  house  to  whip  me.  I 
tried  to  reason  with  them  but  to  no  purpose.  A  row 
had  to  be  had.  I  ordered  them  out  of  my  house.  They 
went  out,  picking  up  rocks  and  stood  facing  my  door 
and  abusing  me,  and  daring  me  out.  I  grabbed  a  pair 
of  hames  fastened  at  the  top  with  a  strap.  Without 
describing  all  that  occurred,  I  did  not  get  hurt,  but  paid 
a  cow  and  calf  for  damages  done  to  the  leader  of  the 
party. 

When  the  row  was  over  I  started  to  the  nearest 
alderman  to  complain  about  myself  Just  as  I  ap- 
proached, meeting  the  officer  in  his  door-yard,  a  man 
came  driving  his  team  up  the  street  on  a  full  run,  and 
shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice  not  to  listen  to  me,  but 
have  me  arrested,  that  I  had  killed  a  man  and  nearly 
killed  a  lot  more.     This  so   enraged  me   that  I   gathered 


164  FORTY    YKARS    AMONG    THE    INDIATJS. 

up  some  rocks  and  commenced  war  upon  him,  turning 
him  back  and  chasing  him  down  the  street,  team  and  all. 
The  alderman  fined  me  five  dollars  on  my  own  complaint, 
but  nothing  for  chasing  Bob  Caldwell  and  team.  For  a 
short  time  there  were  hard  feelings  in  the  community 
against  me.  I  knew  that  I  had  been  both  hasty  and 
severe,  and  gave  the  cow  of  my  own  free  will,  and 
settled  up  with  good  feelings  to  all  parties. 

After  the  road  was  made  passable  and  all  accounts 
settled,  I  concluded  to  give  up  the  project  of  becoming  a 
farmer,  and  stick  to  my  trade.  In  those  days  money  was 
a  little  more  plentiful  among  business  men  than  before 
the  Johnston  army  visited  Utah.  Still,  much  of  the  busi- 
ness was  done  with  grain  as  the  circulating  medium. 
This  made  business  rather  slow,  as  at  times  I  would  have 
to  load  up  a  wagon  and  go  to  Salt  Lake  City,  taking 
from  three  to  five  days,  sometimes  going  with  ox 
teams.  I  would  sell  my  grain  and  return  with  about  as 
much  material  as  I  could  carry  under  my  arm. 

While  on  one  of  my  trips  for  leather,  Brother  Isaac 
Brockbank  made  me  an  offer  to  come  to  the  city  and 
work  for  him,  he  being  in  charge  of  William  Howard's 
tannery,  shoe  and  harness  factory.  Considering  this 
better  than  the  slow  manner  in  Provo,  I  •moved  to  Salt 
Lake  in  1863,  where  I  continued  to  live  and  work  at  my 
trade  uninterruptedly  most  of  the  time.  I  carried  on 
business  until  the  summer  of  1871. 

During  the  time  I  lived  in  Salt  Lake,  Connor's  army 
occupied  Camp  Douglas.  The  Civil  war  was  still  going 
on,  also  the  Black  Hawk  war,  so  known  in  Utah  from 
the  fact  that  the  leader  of  the  depredating  Utes,  who 
broke  up  so  many  of  the  frontier  settlements  of  Sanpete 
and  Sevier  counties,  was  called  Black  Hawk,  after  the 
old  warrior  of  that  name. 


I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 65 

The  people  of  Salt  Lake  had  many  duties  to  perform 
in  those  days.  Strong  police  forces  (unpaid)  had  to  be 
kept  ready,  as  much  prejudice  and  ill-feeling  existed  at 
times.  There  were  continual  threats  to  arrest  our 
leaders,  which  caused  the  people  to  be  constantly  on  the 
alert. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  write  much  in  this  work 
except  that  which  the  title  justifies.  Still,  there  are  a 
few  incidents  that  certainly  would  be  of  interest.  For 
dates  I  am  indebted  to  "Church  Chronology." 

Dec.  17th,  1864.  A  landing  and  site  for  a  church 
warehouse,  afterwards  known  as  Callsville,  was  selected 
by  Anson  Call,  on  the  Colorado  river,  125  miles  from 
St.  George,  and  the  land  along  the  Muddy  found  suitable 
to  settle  on.  It  was  then  contemplated  to  send  the 
emigration  from  Europe  by  way  of  Panama  and  up  the 
Colorado  river  to  this  landing,  which  was  the  head  ot 
navigation  on  the  river  named. 

I  believe  that  I  have  heard  about  as  much  criticism 
and  fault-finding  against  Brigham  Young,  for  the  effort 
made  at  Call's  Landing  to  prepare  for  what  the  above 
refers  to,  as  anything  that  was  ever  directed  by  him. 
Some  few  persons  were  advised  to  spend  a  few  thousand 
dollars  on  the  speculation.  It  failed,  and  they  have  been 
mourning  about  it  ever  since.  I  would  ask  how  many  oi 
Brigham  Young's  enterprises  have  succeeded?  His 
failures  were  but  few. 

I  always  felt  to  honor  and  respect  Brigham  Young, 
but  I  have  thought,  that  men  sometimes  honor  him  more 
than  he  asked,  or  than  common  sense  could  expect. 
That  he  was  a  good  adviser  and  generally  clear  headed 
on  business  matters,  all  who  knew  him  acknowledge. 
But  that  he  could  never  make  a  mistake  would  have 
been    unreasonable    to    expect.     The    work    previously 


1 66  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

spoken  of  might  have  been  useless.  Still  I  do  not  think 
it  was,  and  will  give  some  of  my  reasons  for  thinking  so. 
I  have  been  much  in  the  far  south  ;  have  watched  and 
studied  the  interests  and  progress  of  the  southern  country 
and  its  developments.  I  know  that  President  Young's 
mind  for  some  reason,  was  much  drawn  towards 
Southern  Utah,  Arizona,  and  Mexico.  The  settling  of 
St.  George  and  other  places  considered  desert  wastes, 
the  building  of  the  temple,  etc.,  all  show  this. 

In  carrying  out  this  move,  as  far  as  it  went,  a  road 
had  to  be  opened  up  as  far  as  the  river.  Soon  this 
road  was  opened  farther  on  into  Arizona.  Thus  a 
thoroughfare  such  as  the  country  would  support,  was 
opened  up  now  clear  through  to  some  of  the  most  fertile 
valleys  of  Arizona  and  Mexico.  Some  have  been  settled 
by  our  people,  and  others  will  be  in  time,  as  the  best  are 
not  yet  occupied. 

The  commencement  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  was 
in  1865.  The  immediate  cause  was  the  whipping  of  an 
Indian  by  a  white  man.  This  occurred  April  9th. 
Next  day  three  white  men  were  killed  by  Indians.  April 
1 2th,  in  a  battle,  two  more  ;  July  14th  two  ;  July  26th, 
drove  off  most  of  the  cattle  from  Glenwood,  Sevier 
County;  Oct.    17,  eight  persons  were  killed  near  Ephraim. 

1866.  Jan.  8,  two  men  were  killed  in  Kane  County; 
April  1 2th,  three  more  in  the  same  county.  April  20th, 
Salina  was  raided,  two  men  killed,  and  two  hundred 
head  of  stock  taken.  Place  was  now  vacated.  April  22nd, 
one  killed  and  two  wounded  in  Piute  County.  June  loth, 
two  men  killed  in  Millard  County.  June  24th,  one 
wounded  in  Thistle  valley.  June  26th,  one  white  man 
killed   in   fight  with   Indians,  who  raided   Spanish   Fork. 

1867.  March  21st,  one  man  and  three  women  were 
killed   in   Sevier  County.      Many  southern    settlements 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 67 

were  alarmed  on  account  of  the  raids  during  the  spring 
of  the  year.  June  ist,  one  killed  and  one  wounded  near 
Fountain  Green.  June  2nd,  two  killed  on  Twelve  Mile 
creek.     Aug.  13th,  two  killed  at  Springtown. 

By  this  time  the  people  of  Sanpete  and  Sevier 
Counties  began  to  get  into  shape  to  protect  them- 
selves better  than  they  were  at  first  ;  so  that  during 
the  years  1869  and  1870  not  many  were  killed,  but  raids 
were  still  common,  the  Indians  often  getting  away  with 
stock. 

Companies  of  home  militia-were  sent  out  to  guard 
and  assist  the  settlements.  Records  shows  that  General 
Connor  and  his  army  occupied  Camp  Douglas  during 
the  whole  time  of  this  bloodshed  but  I  cannot  find  any- 
thing on  record  showing  that  any  moves  were  made  by 
Connor  to  assist,  or  in  any  way  protect  these  settlements 
in  their  distress.  Neither  does  my  memory  furnish  an 
instance  of  help  being  furnished  by  the  troops  stationed 
at  Camp  Douglas  to  the  people  of  Sanpete  and  Sevier 
Counties. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  put  on  record  some  things 
that  I  do  remember.  For  five  years,  from  1866  to  1871, 
I  lived  in  the  eastern  part  of  Salt  Lake  City,  directly  in 
the  exposed  portion  to  the  depredations  of  numbers  of 
Connor's  army.  I  know  of  many  instances  where  the 
people  were  insulted  and  abused  in  a  violent  manner, 
often  by  large  parties  of  soldiers  headed  by  non-com- 
missioned officers.  In  some  instances  even  commissioned 
officers  taking  the  lead  in  lawless  acts. 

It  was  often  hard  to  tell  which  were  the  most  to  be 
dreaded,  the  Indians  in  the  south  or  the  soldiers  about 
the  city. 

While  the  soldiers  without  organization  or  authority 
annoyed    us,    the  commander    lent    his    influence    and 


1 68  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

offered  his  support  to  our  political  enemies,  holding  his 
army  over  the  Mormons  as  a  continual  menace. 

The  Mormons  are  being  accused  of  disloyalty  ; 
possibly  this  is  a  correct  and  just  accusation,  owing  to 
their  ignorance  of  what  loyalty  means.  I  will  not  accuse 
any  one  of  disloyalty,  simply  because  I  am  in  the  same 
dilemma — ignorant  ;  but  will  ask,  is  it  right  and  legal  to 
fit  out  with  government  supplies,  tools,  and  animals,  and 
take  enlisted  men  to  work  prospecting  for  mines,  for 
private  interests,  under  pretence  of  going  to  protect 
American  citizens  in  their  legitimate  business  against  the 
Mormons  ?  Or  would  it  be  consistent  to  suppose  that 
the  Mormons  would  be  able  to  molest  these  prospec- 
tors even  if  so  inclined,  when  so  much  occupied  in  pro- 
tecting themselves  against  the  Indians  and  the  more 
savage  and  unreasonable  attacks  of  the  soldiers  ?  Again 
is  it  legaPto  sell  to  miners  and  freighters  by  the  thousands, 
and  then  to  allow  the  commissary  store-houses  to  get  fire 
and  burn  down,  allowing  this  fire  to  get  so  extremely  hot 
as  to  burn  up  log-chains  by  the  hundreds. 

Now  the  Mormons  have  never  taken  part  in  any- 
thing of  this  kind.  They  are  called  disloyal.  I  do  de- 
cline to  be  sworn  on  the  subject,  but  rumor  says  that 
these  things  were  done  and  headed  by  parties  who  are 
now  called  intensely  ''loyal." 

During  the  war  with  the  Indians  numbers  of  them 
were  killed  and  wounded.  About  the  year  1868  or  1869 
there  was  some  little  effort  made  to  bring  about  a  peace. 
Brother  D.  B.  Huntington  had  a  talk  with  some  in  Thistle 
valley  who  wished  peace,  but  many  thefts  and  small  raids 
were  made  after  this,  continuing  from  time  to  time. 
The  Indians  began  to  have  a  dread  of  some  settlements 
as  guards  and  patrols  were  out  at  times.  One  small 
party  had  stolen  some  stock  from   Provo  valley.     They 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 69 

were  killing  a  beef,  when  they  were  surprised  and  all  killed. 
The  Indians  acknowledged  to  me  that  they  were  afraid  of 
Provo  and  Rhodes'  valley  people. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


I  Decide  to  Visit  the  Hostile  Indians — Tabby's  Message — My  Ruse 
to  Avoid  being  Killed  or  Driven  Away — Tabby's  Relenting — 
The  Design  to  Raid  Coalville  Frustrated. 

DURING  the  Black  Hawk  war  a  great  many  from 
Utah  and  Salt  Lake  counties  were  sent  out  to  repel 
the  Indians  and  assist  in  protecting  the  settlements  of 
Sanpete  and  Sevier  counties.  I  never  was  called  to  go. 
My  feelings  were  different  from  the  most.  Although 
the  Indians  were  cruel  and  unjust,  I  could  not  help  but 
remember  their  personal  kindness  and  friendship  for  me 
and  dreaded  the  idea  of  being  called  upon  to  fight  them. 

The  regiment  (Colonel  Sharp's)  to  which  I  belonged, 
had  already  been  called  upon  for  a  detail,  Captain  Crow 
and  company  having  spent  sometime  in  Sanpete.  About 
the  next  call  would  have  been  for  my  company,  as  we 
belonged  to  the  same  regiment.  My  mind  and  feelings 
were  much  exercised  over  these  matters  for  I  could  not 
refuse  to  go  in  my  turn,  as  no  possible  explanation  could 
be  given  to  relieve  me  from  the  suspicion  of  cowardice. 

Many  times,  in  reflecting  upon  the  subject,  my  feel- 
ings were  to  go  and  see  the  Indians  personally.  Although 
they  were  at  war,  and  had  been  for  some  six  or  eight 
years  and  killed  numbers  of  our  people,  breaking  up 
whole    districts,    still   I    felt   as    though   I   would    rather 


170  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

approach  them  as  a  peacemaker  than  as  a  fighter.  Luck- 
ily, one  day  in  the  summer  of  1871,  I  met  an  Indian  that 
I  recognized  at  once  as  an  old  acquaintance,  Ancatowats. 

To  the  reader,  who  is  not  acquainted  with  those 
days,  it  will  be  necessary  to  say  that  there  were  friendly 
Indians  in  and  around  the  settlements  who  took  no  part 
in  this  war,  but  would  not  inform  on  the  hostiles  when 
they  came  in,  in  a  peaceable  manner,  to  visit  them.  I  had 
often  heard  of  this  Indian — Ancatowats — being  one  of 
Black  Hawk's  most  active  raiders.  When  I  called  him 
by  name  he  said  he  did  not  know  me.  I  told  him  how  I 
felt  towards  the  Indians.  Soon  I  got  his  confidence  and, 
we  had  a  long  talk.  He  told  me  all  about  the  hostiles 
and  others  of  the  Uintahs  who  were  not  actively  at  war. 
He  said  the  Indians  wished  they  could  get  some  of  my 
saddles.  (I  had  sold  them  a  great  many  in  former  years.) 
Said  their  saddles  were  all  gone  or  broken  up,  so  that 
their  horses  all  had  bruised  backs.  He  bought  three 
saddles  of  me  at  the  time.  He  also  told  me  that  there 
was  a  new  agent  in  town  from  Washington  whom  he 
thought  was  a  good  man ;  that  he  talked  good  and  that 
he  also  wanted  a  saddle. 

This  Indian  said  to  me  that  he  thought  maybe  I 
could  go  out  with  the  agent  and  make  saddles  for  the 
Indians  if  I  warlted  to,  and  that,  as  I  was  an  old  friend 
and  had  never  been  out  to  fight  them,  he  did  not  think 
they  would  want  to  kill  me.  I  went  and  talked  with 
George  A.  Smith,  giving  him  a  full  understanding  of  my 
feelings,  also  telling  of  the  proposition  of  the  Indian. 
Brother  Smith  agreed  with  me  that  if  someone  could  get 
among  the  Indians  and  talk  to  them  in  a  proper  spirit  it 
would  do  more  good  than  fighting  them,  and  said,  "If 
you  have  faith  to  try  it  you  shall  have  my  faith  and  bless- 
ing in  the  effort." 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I7I 

I  laid  before  him  some  of  my  plans,  which  he 
approved  of,  advising  me  to  say  nothing  to  anyone 
else  about  the  business,  but  to  use  prudence  and 
the  best  judgment  possible.  He  warned  me  that  I 
would  have  a  hard  job  and  hoped  that  I  would  not  get 
discouraged. 

I  managed  to  see  the  agent  and  mentioned  to  him 
my  desire  to  visit  the  agency,  telling  him  that  I  was  an 
interpreter.  He  said  if  I  could  bring  a  testimonial  from 
some  responsible  party  he  would  employ  me,  as  he 
wished  someone,  who  really  understood  the  Indians  and 
was  friendly  with  them,  to  act  as  interpreter.  I  furnished 
the  necessary  paper  and  asked  the  privilege  of  taking 
my  tools  and  some  material  under  an  agreeable  arrange- 
ment. This  was  allowed.  I  closed  up  my  business  and 
went,  in  company  with  the  agent,  to  Uintah. 

On  arriving  at  that  place  I  was  notified  by  the  In- 
dians to  leave  within  three  days  or  they  would  kill  me. 
This  I  was  prepared  to  expect,  for  my  Indian  friend  in 
Salt  Lake  did  not  speak  very  positively  in  regard  to  my 
safety  in  going,  but  thought  maybe  it  would  be  all  right. 
This  word  came  from  Tabby,  my  old  friend.  He  would 
not  come  to  see  me,  but  sent  word,  saying,  "You  are  an 
old  friend,  but  the  Mormons  have  killed  many  of  my 
people ;  you  are  a  Mormon,  and  if  you  stay  here  you  will 
be  killed.  Some  are  mad  because  I  do  not  want  you 
killed  at  once.  Now  hurry  and  get  ready  for  I  do  not 
want  to  see  you  die." 

I  went  to  work,  feeling  first  rate,  and  made  me  a 
saddle  within  the  time.  Some  of  the  Indians  would  come 
where  I  was  at  work  and  watch  me,  but  would  not  speak. 
I  treated  them  with  perfect  indifference. 

When  the  saddle  was  done  an  Indian  wanted  to  buy 
it.     I  told  him  I  could  not  sell  it;  that  I  had  to   leave  or 


172  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

the  Indians  would  kill  me.  He  said  he  would  go  and 
see  if  they  would  not  wait  three  days  more,  so  that  I 
could  let  him  have  the  one  on  hand.  I  agreed.  He  re- 
turned in  a  few  hours  and  said  it  was  all  right.  Some 
might  ask,  ''Could  you  believe  him?"  I  answer,  most 
certainly. 

I  sold  the  saddle  starting  on  another,  which  had  the 
same  history,  thus  continuing  for  some  time  until  I  began 
to  feel  quite  at  home,  making  saddles  and  selling  them 
for  a  good  price,  with  the  prospect  of  being  killed  every 
three  days.  There  is  an  old  saying  that  one  can  get 
used  to  almost  anything  except  getting  killed  more  than 
once. 

Tabby  often  passed  by  where  I  could  see  him,  but 
would  never  look  towards  me.  I  believed  that  in  his 
heart  he  was  my  friend,  for  I  was  his.  This  looked  a 
little  strange,  but,  understanding  Indian  character  so 
well,  I  knew  it  would  not  do  for  me  to  speak  first. 

One  day  Tabby  stepped  into  my  shop  accompanied 
by  his  young  squaw.  I  had  my  work-bench  across  the 
room  so  that  I  faced  the  door,  all  my  stuff  behind  and 
protected  by  the  bench.  I  kept  very  busy,  scarcely 
speaking  to  anyone  coming  in.  Simply  selling  saddles 
under  the  rule  mentioned.  He  came  up  to  the  bench  in 
haughty  Indian  style,  never  offering  to  speak.  I  felt 
almost  like  laughing  for  I  knew  he  was  playing  a  part, 
and  I  determined  to  beat  him  if  possible,  so  I  never  even 
looked  up  from  my  work.  Soon  he  laid  a  new  butcher 
knife  down  on  the  bench  without  speaking  a  word.  I 
took  the  knife  and  made  a  nice  scabbard  for  it,  and  laid 
it  on  the  bench  before  him.  He  then  took  a  pair  of 
stirrups  from  his  squaw  and  laid  them  on  the  bench.  I 
had  a  pair  of  stirrup-leathers  made  and  hanging  up.  I 
took   them  and   put  them  on   the  stirrups  and  laid  them 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 73 

down  as  I  had  the  knife,  then  went  on  with  my  work 
without  taking  any  further  notice. 

Tabby  stood  straight  and  silent,  hardly  moving  dur- 
ing this.  He  then  took  from  his  squaw  some  buckskin, 
and  without  a  word  laid  them  on  my  bench.  I  com- 
menced cleaning  up,  giving  my  bench  a  general  straighten- 
ing. When  I  came  to  the  buckskins  I  handled  them  as 
though  they  were  trash  in  my  way,  and  asked  the  squaw 
if  she  would  not  take  care  of  them.  At  this  Tabby 
laughed,  holding  out  his  hand  in  a  friendly  way,  saying, 
**A11  right,  we  are  friends,  and  it  is  foolish  for  us  to  not 
talk  and  be  as  we  used  to  be." 

He  then  told  me  that  most  of  the  Indians  liked  me 
and  thought  1  was  a  friend,  but  that  "Yank"  and  his 
crowd  thous^ht  I  was  a  spy  and  wanted  to  kill  me ;  but 
that  if  I  could  win  him  I  would  be  all  right.  After  this  I 
hadn't  much  fear,  for  I  did  not  believe  Yank  would  kill 
me  for  he  needed  a  saddle  very  badly. 

I  soon  learned  the  general  condition  of  affairs, 
getting  information  both  from  the  Indians  themselves 
and  some  of  the  whites  at  the  agency.  Tabby,  and  quite 
a  number  of  the  better  disposed  Utes,  claimed  that  they 
never  had  been  at  war  with  the  Mormons,  but  acknowl- 
edged that  they  had  a  very  bad  feeling  about  the  killing 
of  some  of  their  friends  under  circumstances  that  did  not 
justify,  telling  about  Tabby's  half-brother,  who.  Tabby 
claims,  was  a  friend  and  not  an  enemy. 

I  myself  knew  of  several  instances  where  Indians 
were  killed,  that  to  me  looked  a  little  crooked,  and  when 
their  friends  talked  about  these  cases,  I  could  not  help 
but  admit  sometimes  that  they  had  a  right  to  get  mad. 
One  Indian,  known  as  Big-Mouth-Jim,  took  quite  a  liking 
to  me  and  became  quite  communicative.  He  was  very 
faithful,  never  deceiving  me.     He  would  tell  me  how  the 


174  F-ORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Indians  talked  about  me ;  what  their  plans  were  for  raid- 
ing, and  gave  me  advice  how  to  control  their  actions,  by 
a  little  stratagem. 

The  season  was  getting  late.  Coalville  was  selected 
as  the  place  to  raid.  Yank  had  everything  arranged  but 
could  not  go  without  a  saddle  as  his  was  about  used  up. 
Jim  advised  me  to  put  him  off,  saying  that  if  I  could  do 
so  until  snow  fell  that  he  would  not  go  and  perhaps  by 
spring  I  could  ''make  him  good." 

There  were  a  great  many  wanting  saddles.  More 
than  I  could  possibly  supply,  so  that  it  was  easy  to  put 
Yank  off.  I  allowed  the  idea  to  still  prevail  that  I  had 
to  leave  and  would  not  sell  any  Indian  a  saddle  without 
the  understanding  that  I  could  remain  long  enough  to 
make  another.  I  was  not  in  the  least  afraid,  but  this 
suited  me  for  I  had  not  yet  made  terms  with  the  raiders. 
Finally  snow  fell  in  the  mountains.  Jim  said.  "  Now  you 
can  let  Yank  have  a  saddle ;  he  will  go  with  the  rest  on 
a  hunt,  and  not  go  to  Coalville."  About  this  time  the 
greater  number  of  the  Utes  were  starting  on  their  fall 
hunt.  Yank  came  in  offering  me  some  buckskins  for  a 
saddle.  I  told  him  I  was  going  home ;  that  I  was  afraid 
when  Tabby  and  the  good  Indians  went  away  that  he 
would  kill  me.  He  said  I  was  a  fool  to  think  so  ;  that  I 
was  a  good  man  and  all  the  Indians  liked  me  and  none 
of  them  would  kill  me.  I  then  sold  him  a  saddle  I  had 
ready. 

The  Indians  explained  many  things  to  me  about  the 
management  at  the  agency.  Saying  that  the  former 
.agents  stole  most  that  the  government  sent  them.  They 
did  not  know  how  the  new  agent  would  be,  but  agreed 
if  I  would  be  their  friend  and  tell  "Washington"  the 
truth,  just  how  things  were  done  it  would  be  different. 
They  believed   ''Washington"  was    honest,    had  a  kind 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 75 

heart,  and  when  hungry  men  came  to  him  crying  for 
something  to  eat,  that  he  made  Indian  agents  of  them 
and  sent  them  out  here  to  the  Indians.  They  did  not 
think  this  was  right  for  they  needed  all  that  the  govern- 
ment gave  them  and  there  was  nothing  to  spare  for 
the  agents  to  steal  without  leaving  the  Indians  hungry. 

Tabby  said  thatsome  of  ''Brigham's  Bishops" helped 
the  agents  to  steal  and  this  made  the  Indians  mad, 
causing  them  to  raid  upon  the  Mormons  and  to  excuse 
themselves  by  saying  that  if  the  Mormons  did  not  help 
to  steal  their  provisions  they  would  have  enough  ;  but  as 
it  was,  they  had  to  steal  Mormon  cattle,  and  when  the 
Mormons  followed  them,  sometimes  they  had  to  fight ; 
but  would  just  as  soon  get  the  beef  without  killing  any- 
one as  to  have  to  kill  them. 

The  question  may  be  asked  was  there  any  truth  or 
reason  in  this  ?  I  thought  at  one  time  of  writing  up 
some  facts  that  can  be  proved,  giving  circumstances  and 
names  which  would  clearly  show  that  the  Indians  had 
reason  to  talk  as  they  did.  If  blood  was  shed  and  the 
cause  originated  through  the  speculative  act  of  some 
man  who  ought  to  have  known  better,  the  day  of  reckon- 
ing will  come  without  my  calling  them  to  account  in  this 
little  history. 

After  becoming  acquainted  with  the  condition  of 
affairs  at  the  Uintah  and  the  White  River  agency,  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  act  as  a  friend  to  the  Indians  in  trying  to 
get  something  done  to  better  their  condition.  That  there 
had  been  a  great  deal  of  neglect  and  crookedness  going 
on  for  years,  no  one  could  doubt.  Reports  were  circu- 
lated that  some  of  the  government  officials,  prior  to  this 
time,  had  encouraged  the  Indians  in  stealing  cattle  from 
the  Mormons,  thinking  that  if  the  Indians  supplied  them- 
selves with    beef  they    could    better   appropriate    what 


176  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

government  furnished,  than  when  the  Utes  were  peace- 
able and  not  steaHng.  The  new  agent  was  very  empha- 
tic in  his  denunciations  of  former  agents.  He  seemed 
disposed  to  change  the  management,  and  work  for  the 
good  of  the  natives.  He  asked  me  to  find  how  the 
Indians  felt  and  to  ^ssist  him  in  every  way  possible  to 
get  things  in  good  order  and  work  to  make  the  Indians 
happy  and  contented.  I  felt  much  pleasure  in  the  pro- 
spective work  before  me. 

After  I  had  been  in  the  agency  a  few  weeks,  the 
agent  started  to  Salt  Lake  City  to  buy  winter  supplies. 
He  instucted  me  to  come  in  and  bring  his  team  and  light 
wagon.  In  a  few  days  after  his  leaving,  I  got  ready  to 
start  in.  According  to  previous  arrangements,  I  was  to 
have  the  right  to  take  in  with  the  agent's  team  the  buck- 
skins and  furs  that  I  had  received  for  saddles.  As  far  as 
I  knew  good  feeling  existed  between  the  agent  and  my- 
self. But  when  I  was  ready  to  start  in,  the  clerk  then  in 
charge  told  me  that  the  agent  had  instructed  him  not 
to  allow  me  to  haul  any  of  my  stuff  in  his  wagon  ;  that  I 
was  to  take  the  wagon  in  empty.  George  Basor,  the 
post  trader,  and  a  Mr.  Morgan,  blacksmith,  were  going 
in  with  me.  They  told  me  that  for  some  cause  the 
agent  had  "gone  back  "  on  me.  But  I  concluded  not  to 
"go  back"  on  myself  so  I  got  my  skins  and  furs  ready. 
The  clerk  at  first  forbade  me  to  load  them  in,  but  soon 
took  another  notion  and  assisted  me  to  load  the  stuff  into 
the  wagon. 

After  the  agent  had  left  the  clerk  in  charge,  busi- 
ness was  carried  on  in  a  very  bad  manner.  Quite  a 
crop  of  potatoes  had  been  raised  ;  the  weather  com- 
menced to  grow  cold,  potatoes  freezing.  Instead  of 
digging  and  taking  care  each  day  of  the  potatoes  dug,  he 
would  have  all  hands  dig  all  they  could  and  then  try  to 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 77 

get  all  hands — mechanics,  cooks,  and  all,  to  gather  them 
in  after  night.  While  working  in  this  manner  the 
Indians  were  not  allowed  to  help,  but  at  the  same  time 
the  most  of  these  potatoes  were  expected  to  be  eaten  by 
the  Indians.  Many  other  things  as  foolish  were  being 
done  daily.  I  kept  a  memorandum,  intending  to  report 
to  the  agent  according  to  my  agreement  with  him. 

About  the  time  Mr.  Basor,  Mr.  Morgan  and  myself 
were  ready  to  start  in,  the  first  severe  snow  storm  of  the 
season  comnenced.  We  had  quite  a  hard  trip  getting 
into  the  valley. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 


My  Discharge  by  the  Government  Agent — I  Prepare,  in  Mid-Winter, 
to  Again  Visit  the  Indians — Bradley  Sessions  Accompanies  me — 
Our  Terrible  Journey  and  Sufferings — Reception  at  the  Agency. 

ON  ARRIVING  in  Salt  Lake,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Morgan,  the  agency  blacksmith,  who  had  been  dis- 
charged by  the  clerk  because  he  refused  to  put  long, 
sharp  corks  on  the  agent's  team,  which  would  have  cut 
them  while  floundering  through  deep  snow-drifts — such 
as  we  would  encounter  on  the  road — which  any  experi- 
enced man  knows  is  correct.  But  the  clerk,  like  many 
others,  felt  that  a  little  authority  must  of  necessity  make 
him  wise,  thought  differently.  On  reporting  the  clerk  to 
the  agent,  we  were  considerably  surprised  at  his  answer  to 
us.  He  told  us  that  the  clerk  suited  him,  and  if  we  did 
not  like  him  we  could  stay  away  from  the  agency.  I  told 
him  that  Tom  Layton  was  a  fraud  on  honesty  and  good 


178  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

sense,  and  if  he  felt  to  uphold  him,  he  was  a  different 
man  from  what  I  supposed  him  to  be.  I  wanted  to 
know  why  he  instructed  me  to  notice  how  the  affairs 
were  conducted  and  report  facts,  which  I  had  done  and 
could  prove  all  I  said,  and  then  treat  my  information  in 
the  way  he  did.  The  agent  told  me  he  did  not  want  me 
any  more  and  would  discharge  me  from  his  service  and 
forbade  me  going  to  the  agency.  I  answered  that 
whether  he  discharged  me  or  not,  I  had  business  at  the 
agency,  and  calculated  to  visit  there  whether  he  wanted 
me  to  do  so  or  not.  He  replied  that  it  was  now 
late  in  the  season  and  that  he  expected  much  trouble 
in  getting  his  supply-train  through  that  was  now  about 
starting  from  Heber  City  with  flour  and  other  prov- 
isions, and  that  he  forbade  my  going  with  them.  He 
then  rather  derisively  remarked  that  he  did  not  think 
that  I  would  be  able  to  make  the  trip,  that  he  thought  it 
would  be  about  as  much  as  he  could  do  with  the 
government  to  back  him  up,  to  get  back  to  Uintah  ; 
and  hardly  thought  any  one  else  would  try  the  trip  so 
late  in  the  season. 

I  told  him  there  was  not  enough  snow  for  me  yet. 
But  after  a  while  when  traveling  was  good,  I  would  call 
over  and  see  him.  I  had  already  studied  out  my  cam- 
paign for  the  winter. 

Before  leaving  the  Uintah  agency,  I  had  promised 
the  Indians  that  I  would  return  and  do  all  I  could  for 
them.  They  wanted  me  to  try  and  get  the  place  of 
trader.  There  were  many  things  they  wanted  that  they 
could  not  get.  Among  the  rest  children's  woolen  shirts 
and  dresses  of  various  sizes.  My  wife  went  to  work, 
with  the  assistance  of  some  of  our  neighbors,  (particu- 
larly that  of  the  Sisters  Brower  of  the  nth  Ward)  and 
made  a  lot  of  such  as  were  needed. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 79 

The  agent  left  sometime  in  November.  The  trip 
had  never  been  made  in  the  winter  by  anyone,  as  the 
snow  often  fell  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  on  the  mount- 
ains that  had  to  be  crossed.  So  when  I  spoke  of  going 
many  of  my  friends  considered  me  a  little  crazy. 

I  knew  the  work  before  me,  that  I  had  so  much 
interest  in,  and  that  was  making  permanent  peace  with 
the  Indians,  could  only  be  accomplished  by  keeping  my 
word  with  them,  and  gaining  their  entire  confidence  ;  so 
I  determined  to  go  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  I  knew 
that  I  was  engaged  in  a  good  work  and  fully  believed 
that  I  would  be  preserved  and  strengthened  according  to 
the  undertaking.  I  knew  the  country  I  had  to  travel  was 
rough  in  the  extreme,  with  high  mountains  and  deep 
rough  canyons.  Following  the  road  would  be  of  no  use, 
as  it  would  be  entirely  covered  with  snow  several  feet 
deep.  So  I  made  up  my  mind  to  wait  until  mid  winter 
when  the  snow  was  deepest  and  take  as  direct  a  route  as 
possible. 

With  the  assistance  of  Calvin  Ensign,  I  constructed 
a  sled  of  peculiar  and  original  pattern.  One  thing  was 
certain  ;  unless  good  sleeping  arrangements  could  be 
provided,  we  would  perish  at  night.  The  sled  was  long 
enough  and  of  size  and  shape  so  that  two  could 
sleep  in  it  by  lapping  our  feet  and  legs  to  the  knees, 
each  one  taking  his  end.  We  took  in  provisions  goods 
and  bedding  to  nearly  four  hundred  pounds  weight. 

My  wife  assisted  me  in  every  way  possible  in  getting 
ready,  with  a  kind  cheerful  spirit,  manifesting  no  uneasi- 
ness whatever.  As  I  have  before  mentioned  whenever 
my  labors  were  among  the  Indians,  she  sympathized  with 
me  fully.  Eight  days  before  I  started,  a  son  was  born 
to  me.     My  wife  was  confined  to  her  bed  when  I  started. 


l8o  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

I  waited  as  long  a  time  as   possible,  but  there  was  now 
plenty  of  snow. 

I  started  Jan.  12th,  1872.  I  hired  N.  Murdock  of 
Provo  valley,  to  take  my  sled  to  Heber  City.  I  had  not 
yet  found  any  person  to  go  with  me,  expecting  to  pro- 
cure some  one  in  Provo  valley,  as  there  were  a  number 
of  hardy,  venturesome  persons  living  there  who  were  in 
the  habit  of  going  out  for  days  on  snow-shoes,  hunting 
elk  and  trapping  beaver.  On  arriving  there  I  found  Brad- 
ley Sessions,  a  Mormon  Battalion  boy,  willing  to  under- 
take the  trip.  I  told  him  all  I  wanted  him  to  agree  was, 
that  if  we  perished  on  the  trip  he  would  agree  with  me 
that  we  would  not  grumble,  but  die  uncomplainingly  ; 
that  under  no  circumstances  were  we  to  give  up  or  turn 
back 

He  said,  ''All  right,  I  will  stay  with  you."  And  he 
did. 

Brother  Sessions  furnished  me  with  a  pair  of  snow- 
shoes.  I  had  prepared  almost  everything  else  needed 
for  two  before  leaving  the  city,  so  that  we  were  soon 
ready  to  start. 

On  leaving  Heber  City  we  took  the  most  direct 
road  over  the  pass  leading  down  into  the  west  fork  of 
the  Duchesne,  then  down  to  the  main  stream  intersecting 
the  government  road,  not  far  from  where  it  crosses  this 
stream.  The  divide  is  too  steep  for  a  wagon  road, 
but  part  of  the  way  up  had  been  used  for  carting  timber 
down  to  a  mill  near  the  foot  hills.  There  was  a  sled 
road  some  few  miles  out  from  Heber  City  to  this  mill. 
Brother  John  Duke  hauled  our  sled  that  far  with  his 
team  ;  here  we  made  our  first  camp,  in  an  old  house.  I 
had  taken  from  the  city  a  large,  strong  dog  with  the  idea 
of  having  a  camp  guard,  as  wolves  and  other  wild  ani- 
mals were  in  the  mountains. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  l8l 

We  had  a  few  light  tools  along  with  us  for  repairing 
our  sled  in  case  of  accident,  and  Brother  Sessions  wished 
to  take  along  a  few  beaver  traps.  Our  load  already 
being  heavy,  and  the  traps  awkward  to  load  among  our 
bedding,  as  our  whole  load  of  goods  were  arranged  in 
convenient  shape  for  a  bed,  we  concluded  to  make  a  sled 
and  harness  our  dog  to  it  to  pull  the  traps.  We  got 
some  choke-cherry  sticks  with  crooked  ends  and  spent 
the  evening  making  a  rig  for  the  dog.  When  harnessed 
up  next  morning,  he  acted  rather  unruly. 

We  found  the  snow  lighter  than  we  expected.  The 
winter  had  been  continually  cold,  the  snows  deep  and 
not  yet  settled  or  packed.  But  we  had  started  out  to 
stay  with  it  and  did  not  intend  to  give  up.  We  found  it 
impossible  to  move  our  sled  on  the  snow  until  a  road 
was  packed.  Accordin  gly  we  would  take  a  few  handy 
articles  on  our  backs,  and  with  our  snow-shoes,  five  feet 
long  and  some  fifteen  inches  wide,  go  forward  tramping 
a  trail  wide  enough  for  our  sled,  the  dog  following  with 
his  load.  After  tramping  a  mile  or  two  we  would  return 
and  bring  up  our  sled. 

The  main  trouble  we  had  was  with  our  dog  chasing 
the  little  pine  squirrels,  running  after  them  sled  and  all, 
and  getting  overturned,  or  hung  among  the  trees.  We 
would  have  to  straighten  him  out.  We  did  not  like  to 
thrash  him  for  fear  he  would  run  off,  as  he  seemed  a  little 
disposed  to  get  away  from  us. 

This  tramping  road  and  having  to  double  on  our 
tracks  was  very  laborious.  Many  times  even  after 
tramping  the  road  the  way  was  so  steep  that  it  took  all 
our  strength  to  move  the  sled  a  few  rods  at  a  time,  but 
when  an  easy  grade  was  reached,  we  walked  along  quite 
easily  with  our  four  hundred  pound  load. 

We  were  five  days  in  reaching  the  summit.      When 


1 82  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

there  we  could  look  back  and  see  Heber  City,  some 
twenty  miles  distant.  This  looked  a  little  trying^  to  us  as 
our  provisions  were  wasting  away  very  fast. 

Our  dog  seemed  to  understand  the  situation  and 
rebelled.  I  had  hard  work  to  conquer  him.  Heretofore 
we  had  coaxed  him  along,  but  it  now  became  necessary  to 
make  him  mind  as  bolognes  were  getting  too  scarce  to  feed 
him  more  than  his  share.  We  crossed  the  divide  at  the 
head  of  the  West  Fork  of  the  Duchesne.  The  weather 
was  so  cold  that  we  were  afraid  to  halt  for  dinner  until 
we  had  descended  quite  a  distance  from  the  summit. 
Once  we  halted  among  some  dry  trees  intending  to  get 
dinner,  but  the  wind  blew  so  cold  that  we  were  forced  to 
swallow  a  few  bits  of  frozen  meat  and  go  on.  We 
naturally  expected  that  the  descent  would  be  much  easier 
and  more  rapid  than  pulling  up  the  mountain.  In  this 
we  were  mistaken,  owing  to  the  wind  blowing  the 
light  snow  from  the  mountain  tops  which  settled  down 
into  the  canyon.  Much  of  the  time  we  had  to  tramp  and 
make  road  before  we  could  move  along.  Sometimes 
the  whole  bottom  was  covered  with  willows,  the  tops 
sticking  out  and  holding  the  snow  up  so  light  that  we 
had  to  cut  and  tramp  them  into  the  snow  before 
we  could  move  our  sled  along.  While  passing  the 
narrows,  we  had  to  make  a  dug  way  for  quite  a  dis- 
tance, still  we  pressed  forward.  Neither  could  we  aban- 
don our  sled  or  goods,  for  the  sled  was  our  salvation  to 
sleep  in.  Almost  any  night  we  would  have  perished 
with  cold  without  our  bed-room. 

The  goods  we  were  taking  were  promised,  and  the 
influence  I  desired  to  gain  with  the  Indians  would  greatly 
depend  upon  successfully  reaching  them  with  the  out- 
fit. When  I  made  them  the  promise  I  expected  to  go 
out  with  the  agent  and   take  these  things  with  me  ;  but 


I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 83 

when  he  forbade  me  going  it  only  raised  my  ire  and  I 
was  determined  to  go. 

By  the  time  we  reached  the  main  fork  of  the  Du- 
chesne, our  provisions  were  about  gone.  Game  cannot 
exist  in  the  high  mountains  during  the  coldest  part  of 
the  winter.  Nothing  had  been  met.  We  hoped  to  find 
something  on  reaching  the  river.  We  camped  near  some 
springs  that  ran  into  the  stream,  finding  places  where 
the  river  was  open.  We  hoped  to  catch  some  fish  for 
supper.  We  cast  our  hooks,  but  had  no  bites.  We 
continued  to  fish  until  near  dusk.  We  had  traveled 
eight  days  without  rest,  but  agreed  if  we  could  get  some- 
thing for  supper,  to  lay  over  and  call  it  Sabbath.  We 
finally  gave  up  fishing. 

Brother  Sessions  got  to  camp  a  little  ahead  of  me. 
I  followed,  feeling  very  much  discouraged,  I  thought  of 
course  we  would  have  to  go  to  bed  supperless.  It  was 
becoming  quite  dark,  and  suddenly  I  heard  a  shot  that 
made  me  feel  happy.  Directly  another  was  fired.  As  I 
came  up  Bradley  was  reloading  his  shot  gun  and  re- 
marked, "  We've  got  supper  and  breakfast.  Here  are 
two  pine  hens." 

At  that  the  third  one  came  flying  along,  knocked 
Sessions'  cap  off  his  head  and  lit  on  the  ground  just  in 
front  of  him.  He  shot,  saying,  "There's  dinner."  We 
had  a  few  crumbs  of  crackers  and  a  small  piece  of  bacon. 
We  soon  had  a  fine  stew  of  one  of  the  chickens  giving 
the  dog  his  share.  The  dog  had  by  this  time  become 
quite  well  trained,  and  a  great  favorite  also,  pulling  his 
sled  with  nearly  one  hundred  pounds  load  on  it. 

We  laid  over  next  day,  catching  several  fine  trout. 
We  had  not  yet  suffered  for  food,  so  we  ate  heartily, 
knowing  that  as  long  as  we  kept  our  strength  we  were  all 
right,  that  it  would  be  time  to  starve  when  forced  to  it. 


184  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

When  we  left  camp,  we  had  a  few  fish  ;  enough  for 
one  meal,  and  one  small  meal  of  crumbs  and  a  few 
bits  of  bacon.  We  agreed  to  try  and  make  a  good  drive 
down  the  river  that  day  and  not  stop  for  dinner  ;  and  if 
possible  reach  the  road  where  we  hoped  to  find  the  snow 
hard.  The  snow  was  now  harder  than  in  the  mountains. 
We  could  move  along  slowly  without  tramping  a  road 
and  were  making  very  good  time. 

About  noon  I  became  very  hungry  and  remarked  to 
Sessions  that  the  man  who  works  has  a  right  to  eat. 
He  replied,  "That's  what  I  think." 

We  halted,  took  out  our  little  stock  of  food,  and  ate 
it  all  except  the  fish. 

About  the  time  we  had  fairly  started  on,  we  dis- 
covered a  mountain  sheep  on  a  high  point  of  the  mount- 
ain. Sessions  grabbed  his  rifle,  telling  me  to  try  and 
keep  the  sled  in  motion  so  as  to  attract  its  attention  and 
he  would  have  some  meat  for  supper. 

I  continued  tugging  at  the  sled,  moving  a  few  rods 
at  a  time.  Bradley  climbed  the  mountain  at  a  rate  of 
speed  that  could  not  well  have  been  done  by  a  hungry 
man.  Still  it  took  quite  a  while  as  it  was  a  long  way  up. 
I  could  see  the  sheep,  but  Sessions  kept  out  of  its  sight. 
He  had  now  got  well  up  the  mountain,  I  heard  the  rifle 
crack  and  saw  the  sheep  fall.  I  felt  happy  again  and 
moved  up  to  some  dry  cedars  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
and  had  a  fire  ready  for  a  roast  by  the  time  Sessions  got 
down  the  mountain  with  the  meat. 

After  roasting  and  eating  what  we  wanted  we  moved 
on  down  to  old  Fort  Duchesne,  now  abandoned.  We 
cut  up  our  meat,  which  was  very  poor,  being  mostly  skin 
and  bone ;  jerked  the  flesh  which  was  but  little,  boiled 
the  bones  and  ate  very  heartily. 

Next  morning  we  were  both  sick.     I  took  the  dog 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 85 

and  his  sled  and  went  down  to  the  government  road,  a 
few  miles  distant.  The  traveling-  was  tolerably  good. 
We  fed  the  most  of  the  meat  to  the  dog  as  it  seemed  to 
weaken  us  to  eat  it. 

After  resting  one  day  we  moved  down  to  the  road, 
camping  near  an  old  house.  We  had  hopes  of  finding 
something  stored  here  that  we  could  eat,  but  nothing 
whatever  was  found.  The  house  was  open  and  no  wood 
very  near,  so  we  camped  where  there  was  plenty  of  dry 
timber  standing. 

We  were  very  weak,  our  stomachs  being  out  of  con- 
dition and  nothing  to  eat  except  the  jerked  meat,  which 
only  made  us  sicker  to  eat  it.  It  was  an  intensely  cold 
evening.  We  became  chilled  and  hadn't  strength  to 
cut  down  trees  to  make  a  good  fire.  There  were  a  few 
dry  willows  but  they  would  only  make  a  temporary  blaze. 
Each  of  us  tried  to  use  the  ax  but  we  were  as  weak  as 
little  children.  I  never  felt  so  used  up  before.  I  felt  as 
though  we  would  perish,  I  knew  if  we  went  to  bed  in  our 
exhausted,  chilled  condition  we  would  be  in  danger  of 
freezing ;  for  no  amount  of  clothing  will  warm  a  person 
under  such  cirsumstances,  but,  like  the  ice,  the  more 
blankets  you  wrap  around  the  colder  it  keeps.  Some 
may  doubt  this,  but  when  far  enough  chilled  there  is 
danger  in  going  to  bed.  I  have  had  to  get  up  and  make 
a  fire  more  than  once  to  get  thawed  out. 

Our  condition  seemed  almost  hopeless ;  so  much  so 
that  I  found  the  tears  running  down  my  cheeks  before  I 
thought  what  to  do.  This  weakness  made  me  a  little 
angry  with  myself  At  last  I  told  Bradley  to  gather  as 
many  willows  as  possible.  The  wind  was  blowing  almost 
a  blizzard,  but  we  were  in  the  timber  and  tolerably  well 
protected. 

I  got  our  coffee  pot  ready  and  made  a  lot  of  strong 


1 86  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

coffee.  We  drank  of  it  and  ate  a  few  bites  of  the  meat. 
The  coffee  seemed  to  almost  intoxicate  us,  giving  us 
strength.  We  pitched  in  like  strong  men  and  cut  down 
trees  and  made  up  a  roaring  fire,  got  well  warmed  up 
and  went  to  bed  and  slept  soundly. 

Next  morning  we  were  quite  feeble,  but  felt  safe  as 
the  traveling  was  now  of  a  different  kind  from  this  point, 
for  forty-five  miles  to  the  agency.  The  road  was  open 
for  teams ;  in  fact,  in  many  places,  the  snow  was  clear 
from  the  road  which  was  now  muddy  and  heavy;  so  we 
stored  our  sled  in  the  old  house,  left  our  snow-shoes, 
strapped  a  pair  of  blankets  on  the  dog  and  started  on. 
We  had  nothing  for  breakfast,  and  a  march  of  two  days 
was  before  us.  We  were  so  determined  to  keep  our 
pledge  not  to  complain,  that  we  never  spoke  a  word  re- 
garding our  situation,  simply  doing  what  we  had  to  and 
moving  on  just  as  though  all  was  right. 

We  had  our  guns  but  no  game  came  in  our  way, 
and  we  were  too  weak  to  risk  a  step  out  of  our  direction 
on  an  uncertain  hunt.  We  never  spoke  of  the  thought 
until  afterwards,  but  our  last  hope  was  to  kill  our  dog, 
which  would  have  seemed  almost  like  killing  a  human 
being,  for  he  carried  a  heavy  pair  of  blankets  on  his  back 
when  we  were  too  weak  to  carry  them  ourselves.  Again, 
our  condition  would  not  be  materially  helped  by  unpala- 
table dog  meat.  We  were  more  sick  from  bad  food  than 
starved.  Our  condition  grew  worse  and  worse.  Each 
of  us  was  attacked  with  flux  in   a  most  violent  manner. 

I  remember  well  of  look  ng  ahead  several  times  a  few 
rods  and  picking  out  some  object  by  the  side  of  the  road 
and  thinking  t  looked  a  more  comfortable  place  to  die 
in  than  where  I  was.  Sessions  told  me  afterwards  his 
thoughts  were  the  same.  First  one  and  then  the  other 
would  pass  on  a  little  way  and  stop;  not  a  word  was 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


187 


spoken.  My  feelings  were  to  move  ahead  as  long  as  a 
mite  of  strength  lasted. 

We  continued  on  in  this  way  until  about  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon.  Our  progress  was  slow.  We  had  fell 
In  together  and  were  moving  along  at  a  snail's  pace, 
when  Sessions  stooped  down,  picked  up  something,  and 
in  a  joyous  tone  exclaimed,  ''  Here's  life."  And  break- 
ing in  two  an  ear  of  corn  handed  me  half  of  it.  We 
commenced  eating.  I  ate  mine  cob  and  all,  chewing  it  a 
long  time  before  swallowing.  Never  before  or  since 
have  I  tasted  anything  so  sweet  and  strengthening.  It 
seemed  to  penetrate  to  the  end  of  my  toes.  We  were 
strengthened  immediately  and  commenced  to  walk  at  a 
regular,  even  pace,  in  good  traveling  time. 

About  the  time  we  had  finished  eating  this,  I  dis- 
covered another  ear,  picked  it  up  and  divided  it,  saying, 
''  Here  is  more  life."  Our  sickness  ceased  entirely  and 
we  continued  traveling  until  near  midnight.  We  arrived 
at  a  good  dry  camp,  gave  the  last  scrap  of  meat  to  the 
faithful  dog,  feeling  that  we  were  good  for  next  day's 
tramp,  food  or  no  food. 

It  was  a  good  long  day's  travel.  The  next  morning 
we  left  our  blankets  hung  up  in  a  tree,  measured  our 
gait,  and  agreed  to  keep  it  up,  setting  our  time  to  arrive 
at  the  station  about  sundown.  At  times  I  was  tempted 
to  cry  "  enough,  halt,"  but  it  seemed  as  though  we 
dared  not  stop  for  fear  we  could  not  get  up  steam  for 
another  start.  So  we  kept  up  our  gait  all  day  and  till 
nine  o'clock  at  night. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  trader's  quarters,  owned  by 
George  Basor,  whom  I  was  well  acquainted  with,  and 
who  still  lives  in  that  region.  George  started  back  and 
in  a  serious  manner  asked,  'Ts  this  Dan  Jones'  ghost, 
or  Dan  himself?  " 


1 88  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

I  answered,  "  I  am  Dan,  and  d d  hungry." 

He  grasped  my  hand,  laughing,  and  said  he  saw  it 
was  all   right,  for  Dan  always  came  into  camp  hungry. 

While  we  were  at  supper,  some  of  the  boys  went 
over  to  the  agent's  office  and  told  of  our  arrival.  They 
came  back  and  said  that  the  agent  and  clerk  declared 
they  intended  to  kill  me  on  sight. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  considered  a  boaster,  in  truth  I 
leave  many  things  untold  that  I  might  tell,  only  I  despise 
a  braggart  and  do  not  wish  to  appear  as  one.  I  was  too 
hungry  to  let  this  report  stop  my  eating.  When  I  got 
through,  I  picked  up  my  shot  gun,  putting  a  few  extra 
navy  balls  into  it  and  told  the  boys  I  was  going  over  to 
the  office.  Some  of  them  wanted  .to  go  with  me,  but  I 
preferred  going  alone. 

Men  often  get  the  name  of  being  brave  and  fearless 
from  such  occurrences,  but  in  this  case  I  will  tell  just  how 
I  felt  and  what  my  reasons  were,  and  I  think  many 
others  feel  the  same  under  similar  circumstances. 

I  consider  suspense  or  uncertainty  the  most  dis- 
agreeable condition  in  the  world.  I  did  not  wish  to  be 
annoyed  by  fear  or  dread  of  being  killed  and  I  deemed  it 
best  to  get  that  off  my  mind  at  once,  as  I  was  tired  and 
wished  to  rest.  Again,  I  wanted  freedom  to  be  at  the 
agency  unmolested.  Then  I  did  not  much  believe  that 
the  intention  was  to  kill  me,  for  men  who  really  intend 
to  kill  scarcely  ever  send  word  of  their  intentions.  All 
this  passed  in  my  mind,  so  it  was  not  any  great  bravery 
on  my  part. 

On  reaching  the  office  I  knocked,  and  was  told  to 
come  in.  I  had  my  shot  gun  ready.  Their  pistols  lay 
in  front  of  them.  I  was  asked  what  I  wanted.  I  replied 
that  I  wanted  to  know  whether  it  was  to  be  war  or 
peace. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 89 

The  agent  answered,  ''  I  guess  it  had  better  be 
peace." 

"Peace  it  is  then,"  I  put  my  gun  down  and  shook 
hands  with  both. 

I  was  kindly  treated  and  accommodated  in  many  ways 
by  the  agent^  after  this,  while  at  the  agency  I  got  a  team 
from  him  to  bring  in  the  sled  and  goods. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


I  Visit  the  Indian  Camp — Our  big  Talk — Some  of  their  Grievances — 
The  Kindness  of  an  Indian  in  Providing  Me  a  Horse. 

THE  Indians  were  greatly  pleased  to  see  me.  It  is 
well  understood  by  all  who  are  acquainted  with 
Indian  character,  that  they  are  undemonstrative  as  a  rule, 
except  when  angry,  especially  the  warriors.  Many  of 
them  said  I  was  a  strong  man  and  had  good  legs. 
They  admired  my  companion,  saying  they  knew  him  and 
knew  he  was  a  good  hunter. 

The  most  that  I  desired  for  a  few  days  was  to  rest 
and  eat.  Sessions  soon  got  filled  up,  but  it  seemed  to 
me  that  I  never  would  be  able  to  satisfy  my  stomach  for 
having  punished  it  so  with  the  sickly  mountain  sheep. 
There  was  plenty  to  eat  at  the  trader's  quarters.  The 
agent  was  kind,  giving  us  all  the  potatoes  and  milk  we 
wanted  ;  these  being  about  the  only  articles  the  trader 
was  lacking.  The  dog  was  in  about  the  same  fix  as  my- 
self, he  tried  to  eat  everything  on  the  reservation,  but 
finally  got  satisfied  by  getting  at  a  barrel  of  tallow,  one 


190  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

day,  and  eating,  as  we  all  estimated,  about  ten  pounds. 
Reader,  remember  this  was  a  large  dog. 

Basor,  the  trader,  would  not  cook  for  me.  He  said 
a  man  that  ate  as  much  as  I  did  would  have  to  do  his 
own  cooking.  So  one  day  while  alone,  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  conquer  my  hunger.  I  cooked  a  good  square 
meal  for  three  of  us,  waited  a  little  while  for  the  others 
then  sat  down  and  ate  the  whole  of  it.  I  did  not  feel 
hungry  again  for  several  days.  After  getting  this  diffi- 
culty over,  I  told  the  Indians  I  would  visit  their  camp  and 
have  a  talk  with  them.  A  time  was  appointed,  and 
Tabby,  the  chief,  sent  a  man  and  horse  for  me.  The 
camp  was  some  eight  miles  from  the  station.  When  I 
reached  their  camp,  there  were  about  fifty  of  the  princi- 
pal men  of  the  tribe  present.  "  Captain  Joe,"  of  Thistle 
valley,  was  there  also.  I  always  considered  him  like 
some  of  our  political  white  men,  not  very  reliable. 

I  was  informed  by  Joe  that  I  could  talk.  I  spoke  to 
them  about  half  an  hour,  telling  them  that,  notwith- 
standing all  the  trouble  and  war,  the  good  Mormons 
were  still  their  friends  ;  that  Brigham  had  always  desired 
peace  and  was  sorry  that  any  of  his  people  wanted  to 
light  the  Indians.  After  saying  what  I  thought  was  safe, 
for  I  knew  the  delicacy  of  the  subject,  as  some  of  the 
Indians  had  been  killed  by  such  as  professed  to  be  Mor- 
mons, and  I  was  careful  not  to  push  the  subject  too  far 
in  my  first  attempt,  I  desired  to  hear  Tabby  talk. 

I  knew  he  was  much  respected  by  his  people,  also 
that  he  was  not  inclined  to  war,  but  had  accepted  the 
situation  and  let  things  run,  neither  taking  an  active  part 
in  killing  and  stealing,  nor  making  any  great  effort  to 
stop  the  war.  He  was  very  sore  about  the  killing  of  his 
half  brother  while  a  prisoner.  I,  myself,  considered  this 
somewhat  treacherous  on  the   part  of  those  who  did  it. 


I 


a 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  I9I 

Capt.  Joe  seemed  to  think  he  must  do  all  the  talk- 
ing for  the  Indians.  No  one  else  spoke.  Joe  urged  me 
to  say  more.  I  told  him  I  wanted  to  hear  Tabby.  The 
old  fellow  laid  down,  as  much  as  to  say,  'T  will  not  take 
part  in  this."  The  act  nettled  me  considerably,  and  I 
told  Joe  I  would  not  talk  unless  Tabby  did.  Tabby 
grunted  out  that  he  was  an  old  man,  and  chief;  that  Joe 
was  a  little  captain  and  young,  and  was  good  enough  to 
talk  to  me.  This  made  me  mad.  I  got  up  and  told 
Tabby  that  I  was  more  of  a  man  than  he  or  any  of  his 
men  ever  were  ;  that  they  had  been  born  and  raised  in 
Uintah,  and  none  of  them  had  ever  been  brave  or  strong 
enough  to  cross  the  snow  mountains,  but  had  laid  there 
shut  up  winter  after  winter  like  women  ;  that  I  had  done 
what  none  of  them  could  do,  and  had  done  it  to  keep  my 
word  with  them ;  that  they  had  agreed  if  I  would  be  their 
friend  and  tell  ''Washington"  their  grievances  that  they 
would  listen  to  me  and  make  peace. 

When  I  got  through,  Tabby  got  up  and  said,  "You 
talk  big  for  a  boy.  I  know  you  have  strong  legs  and  a 
good  belly,  for  I  have  seen  you  eat.  But  I  want  to  know 
where  your  grey  hairs  are,  that  give  wisdom.  You  had 
better  wait  a  few  years  before  you  talk."  I  really  felt 
small  under  this  sarcasm.  He  further  said,  "You  have 
spoke  about  the  Indians  stealing  from  the  Mormons.  I 
can  answer  that  by  saying  some  of  the  Mormon  Bishops 
helped  the  agents  to  steal  what  '  Washington  '  sends  us. 
While  some  of  Brigham's  Bishops  steal,  I  do  not. 
Neither  does  Tom  and  many  others ;  but  we  have  staid 
at  home  and  worked  and  hunted.  It  is  the  bad  Indians 
that  will  not  listen  to  me,  that  steal."  He  then  named 
ome  twelve  or  fourteen  present  whom  he  said  stole  from 
the  Mormons  and  made  the  trouble. 

He  continued,  *T  have  told  them  it  is  wrong;  now 


192  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

you  may  talk  to  them  and  make  them  good  if  you  can. 
I  am  not  bad  and  do  not  steal,  so  you  do  not  need  to 
talk  to  me." 

I  held  several  meetings  and  cultivated  on  every 
opportunity  the  personal  friendship  of  the  Indians, 
especially  the  raiders,  talking  kindly  to  them  and  gain- 
ing their  confidence  and  good-will.  At  length,  one  night, 
the  bad  Indians  were  induced  to  talk.  They  related 
many  things  about  their  raids  ;  each  in  turn  told  some- 
thing of  his  experience,  entering  into  details.  How  they 
felt,  and  giving  the  causes  of  their  ill-feelings.  Each 
taking  his  turn  in  talking,  said  that  hunger  often  caused 
them  to  go  on  raids  to  get  cattle  to  eat,  always  making 
the  statement  that  the  agents  stole  what  "Washington" 
sent  them ;  that  Mormons  helped  the  agents  to  steal ; 
that  the  Sanpete  Mormons  had  stolen  their  country  and 
fenced  it  up.  The  lands  that  their  fathers  had  given 
them  had  been  taken  for  wheat  fields.  When  they  asked 
the  Mormons  for  some  of  the  bread  raised  on  their 
lands,  and  beef  fed  on  their  grass,  the  Mormons  insulted 
them,  calling  them  dogs  and  other  bad  names.  They 
said  when  the  Mormons  stole  big  fields  and  got  rich, 
other  Mormons,  who  were  poor,  had  to  buy  the  land 
from  them,  they  were  not  allowed  to  steal  it  from  the 
first  owners,  the  same  as  the  first  Mormons  stole  it  from 
the  Indians. 

I  have  often  wondered  how  these  statements  will  be 
answered.  They  are  still  open.  I  never  could  answer 
them  like  many  other  propositions  I  have  had  to  meet 
while  laboring  among  the  Indians.  I  have  had  to  give  it 
up  acknowledging  th^it  they  had  been  wronged.  All  I 
could  do  was  to  get  their  hearts  set  right  and  then  teach 
them  magnanimity. 

Some  may  jeer  at  this  idea,  but  I  have  found  more 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 93 

nobility  of  character  among  the  Indians  than  what  is 
common  among  many  whites,   even  Mormons  included. 

In  explanation  of  their  accusing  some  of  the  Mor- 
mon Bishops  of  helping  to  rob  them,  it  had  been  told  to 
them  how  the  agents  managed  to  get  certain  ones  to 
sign  false  vouchers  for  flour  and  beef  Whether  this 
was  true  or  not  the  Indians  fully  believed  that  it  was.  I 
found  evidences  afterwards  that  at  least  looked  like  their 
accusations  were  well  founded.  All  who  are  acquainted 
with  Indian  character  know  that  a  trader  who  deals 
liberally  with  the  natives  can  hold  a  great  influence  over 
them.  The  Utes  were  great  traders  at  that  time,  having 
a  great  many  skins  and  furs  to  barter.  They  urged  me 
to  come  and  trade  with  them.  This  could  only  be  done 
by  buying  out  the  trader  and  getting  the  appointment. 
So  I  bought  out  the  trader,  conditionally,  with  the  hopes 
of  getting  the  post  tradership.     In  this  I  failed. 

The  friendship  of  the  agent  was  only  politic  for  the 
time  being.  His  endeavors  to  keep  me  out  of  the  situa- 
tion were  successful.  Mine  to  bring  about  a  permanent 
peace  and  get  the  Indians  better  provided  for  were  also 
successful,  probably  much  more  so  than  if  I  had  been 
allowed  the  trader's  position. 

After  visiting  with  the  Indians  and  gaining  consider- 
able influence  over  them,  getting  them  to  promise  peace, 
provided  the  Mormons  would  be  friendly  again,  I  com- 
menced preparing  for  my  return  home.  The  Indians 
wanted  me  to  go  back  and  talk  to  the  Mormons  and  see 
positively  what  they  said  and  how  they  felt,  especially  in 
Sanpete  valley,  where  the  war  had  been  the  worst. 
They  wanted  to  be  assured  that  the  Mormons  would  not 
kill  them,  provided  they  came  in  to  visit  and  trade  as  in 
former  times.  I  agreed  to  find  out  and  return  again 
and  see  them,  and  bring  a  few  more  things  they  wanted. 


194  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

There  were  two  men,  John  Sessions  and  David 
Boyce,  at  the  agency  that  wished  to  come  in  with  me. 
We  brought  In  five  hundred  pounds  of  buckskins.  This, 
with  our  provisions  and  bedding,  made  about  seven 
hundred  pounds.  On  this  trip  the  snow  had  settled  and 
we  moved  along  all  right.  The  dog  hauled  most  of  the 
time  two  hundred  pounds.  We  thought  this  a  big  load, 
but  I  afterwards  learned  what  a  load  was  for  a  large  dog. 

In  justice  to  my  Indian  friends,  and  one  in  particular, 
I  will  relate  one  incident.  Just  before  leaving,  an  Indian, 
Toquana,  came  to  me  and  asked  me  if  I  did  not  want  a 
horse.  I  told  him  that  I  had  finished  trading  and  had 
nothing  to  buy  a  horse  with,  and  that  I  did  not  particu- 
larly need  one  as  we  would  run  the  sled  out  on  wheels 
until  we  struck  snow,  then  we   could   haul   it  very  well. 

His  reply  was,  "  I  do  not  want  to  sell  you  a  horse. 
You  are  a  friend,  and  are  doing  hard  work  for  our  good. 
I  want  you  to  live  and  keep  strong;  I  do  not  want  you  to 
wear  out.  I  know  your  legs  are  good,  and  I  want  you  to 
keep  them  good  to  go  over  the  deep  snow  where  a  horse 
cannot  go.  I  have  got  a  good,  gentle  horse  that  knows 
how  to  work ;  he  is  strong,  can  go  through  snow  up  to 
his  breast.  You  take  him,  let  him  pull  your  sled  just  as 
long  as  he  possibly  can,  then  maybe  you  can  find  some 
place  on  the  hill  side  where  the  snow  is  not  deep  ;  turn 
him  out  and  if  he  lives  I  will  get  him,  and  it  will  be  all 
right ;  if  he  dies,  he  will  die  mine,  and  I  will  know  he  died 
to  help  my  friend,  and  that  will  be  all  right.  I  do  not 
want  anything  at  all,  no  presents  or  anything.  I  want  to 
do  this  because  I  feel  like  doing  it." 

I  took  his  horse,  worked  him  about  eighty  miles 
and  then  turned  him  on  good  grass  where  there  was  but 
little  snow. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 95 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

Another  Trip  to  Uintah  Agency — Confidence  of  the  Indians — My 
Return  to  Salt  Lake  City — Call  on  Secretary  Delano — G.  W. 
Dodge  Visits  the  Indians  as  a  Peace  Commissioner — Speech  of 
Chief  Douglas — Treaty  with  the  Grass  Valley  Indians. 

ON  MY  arrival  in  Salt  Lake  City  and  after  disposing 
of  my  furs  and  skins,  I  made  arrangements  for  the 
money  to  pay  the  trader,  George  Basor,  for  his  stock  of 
buckskins,  amounting  to  some  two  thousand  dollars. 
The  arrangement  was  to  close  the  bargain  by  a  certain 
date,  provided  the  purchase  was  made. 

I  found  the  dog  so  useful  in  pulling  a  sled  that  I 
determined  to  get  hold  of  some  more  large  dogs  and 
train  them.  To  do  this  I  would  be  delayed  a  few  days  ; 
so  I  got  David  Boyce,  who  had  just  come  in  with  me,  to 
take  Ring,  the  old  dog,  with  a  sled  load  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds,  and  a  $2000.00  check  and  make  the 
trip  alone.  Boyce,  traveling  on  Norwegian  snow-runners, 
made  the  trip  through  in  good  time.  This  trip  of  Boyce's 
I  consider  one  of  the  most  heroic  of  any,  as  he  traveled 
alone  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  passing  over  twenty 
feet  of  snow,  with  no  one  but  the  faithful  dog  for  com- 
pany. 

On  getting  my  dogs,  four  in  number,  trained  with 
sleds  for  each,  I  took  my  son  Wiley,  thirteen  years  of 
of  age,  and  started  again  for  Uintah,  taking  about  four 
hundred  pounds  of  goods  for  the  Indians.  I  was  careful 
to  take  a  good  supply  of  provisions  on  this  trip.  I  hired 
a  young  man  from  Heber  City,  by  the  name  of  Hickins, 
to  go  with  us.  We  made  good  time  over  the  mount- 
ains. Our  dogs  behaved  tolerably  well,  as  I  had  trained 
them  before  starting. 


196  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Boyce,  who  went  through  with  the  express,  found 
the  horse,  loaned  by  Toquana,  all  right.  He  packed 
the  goods  on  him,  after  getting  to  hard  ground, 
went  on  to  the  agency,  transacted  the  business,  got  a 
yoke  of  cattle  and  a  light  wagon,  and  came  out  and  met 
us  at  the  snow  line.  So  everything  went  off  smoothly 
on  this  trip.  On  my  arrival  at  the  agency,  I  found  it 
would  be  impossible  for  me  to  get  the  trader's  position 
and  be  true  to  the  Indians.  What  I  had  started  to  do 
for  them  would  make  the  agent  my  enemy,  so  I  con- 
cluded to  stick  to  the  peace-making,  let  it  cost  what  it 
might. 

On  getting  the  Indians  together  and  talking  to  them, 
we  came  to  a  full  understanding  and  agreement.  By 
this  time  they  had  come  to  believe  in  and  trust  me 
implicitly.  I  agreed  to  procure  all  the  evidence  I  could 
in  regard  to  irregularities  on  the  part  of  the  agents.  Such 
evidence  I  had  been  gathering  up  for  some  time,  to  make 
a  report  to  Washington  in  their  behalf,  and  do  all  I  could 
to  get  them  their  rights.  There  was  not  much  provisions 
at  the  agency  at  this  time  for  the  Indians.  Only  a  few 
sacks  of  flour.  I  assured  them  that  if  they  would 
come  in  and  visit  the  Mormons,  that  they  would  be  glad 
and  would  not  fight  them,  but  would  treat  them  as 
friends,  as  was  the  custom  before  the  war. 

This  finally  was  agreed  upon.  I  knew  that  some 
move  of  importance,  sufficient  to  cause  the  government 
to  take  notice,  had  to  be  made.  So  it  was  arranged  that 
all  the  Indians  should  leave  the  reservation  and  refuse  to 
return  until  they  were  furnished  with  supplies,  and  a 
better  system  of  provisioning  them  devised.  They  hated 
the  agent  as  he  had  acted  very  insultingly  to  some  of 
them.  They  urged  hard  that  I  would  send  in  evidence 
of  his  wrong-doing,  and  get  him  removed.     I  told  them 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 97 

maybe  they  would  get  a  worse  one,  but  they  insisted  that 
there  was  no  danger. 

I  did  not  agree  with  the  idea  of  the  Indians.  The 
present  agent  had  not  been  long  in  position,  and  from 
what  I  knew  and  had  heai-d  about  former  agents,  he  was 
not  nearly  so  bad  as  some  of  his  predecessors.  In  fact 
I  believed  him  capable  of  making  a  very  good  agent 
when  once  posted  on  the  duties  of  his  office. 

My  interests  were  entirely  centered  on  doing  the 
best  for  the  Indians  I  possibly  could,  also  that  the  people 
would  be  relieved  from  their  depredations. 

The  furs  and  skins  that  I  had  bought  from  the  old 
trader  amounted  to  some  twenty  odd  hundred  pounds. 
The  ground  was  now  bare  for  some  seventy-five  miles  ; 
the  snow  being  still  deep  for  about  the  same  distance.  I 
bought  a  wagon  and  team  from  the  trader,  loaded  all  up 
and  pulled  up  to  the  snow  region,  where  we  turned  the 
team  out,  loaded  up  our  dog  sleds  and,  by  making  an  aver- 
age of  three  return  trips,  moved  our  whole  load  six  miles 
each  day.  Our  dogs  were  fed  mostly  on  beaver  meat, 
caught  by  trapping  in  the  streams  along  the  route. 

On  nearing  Provo  valley  I  went  ahead  to  get  teams 
to  come  out  and  meet  the  dog  train  a  few  miles  from 
Heber  City.  It  took  two  light  wagons  to  contain 
our  load.  We  made  the  trip  down  Provo  canyon  and 
camped  one  night  near  American  Fork.  I  had  been  from 
home  longer  than  was  expected ;  there  were  no  means  of 
communication  and  I  felt  very  anxious  to  get  home  as  ! 
believed  my  family  would  be  uneasy  about  me. 

At  that  time  the  terminus  of  the  Utah  Central  was 
at  Draperville.  I  started  out  early  in  the  morning  on 
foot  to  make  to  the  train  by  8  o'clock,  some  eight  miles 
distant.  I  had  been  working  on  snow  shoes  for  most  of 
the  winter ;  I  was  now  on   good  dry  road  and  was  wear- 


198  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

ing  Indian  moccasins.  I  was  feeling  well  and  in  good 
trim,  so  I  had  but  little  fears  of  making  the  distance  in 
time. 

After  traveling  a  short  distance  I  heard  a  wagon 
approaching.  On  looking  around  I  recognized  a  gentle- 
man who  had  always  professed  great  friendship  and 
interest  in  my  labors  among  the  Indians.  It  occurred  to 
me  that  I  would  see  if  he  would  ask  me  to  ride  without 
my  making  the  request.  He  drove  by  without  turning 
his  head.  I  made  up  my  mind  that  although  he  was 
driving  a  nice  fine  traveling  team,  to  beat  him  into  the 
station.  This  I  did.  He  drove  quite  fast,  but  I  kept  in 
sight  of  him  all  the  way,  passing  the  team  about  a  mile 
before  reaching  the  station. 

As  I  went  by  he  spoke  to  me,  saying  he  had  not 
recognized  me  before.  I  replied  that  I  was  in  a  hurry 
and  could  not  stop.  One  of  his  horses  suddenly  failed, 
causing  them  to  halt.  This  friend  (?)  probably  never 
passed  a  footman  afterwards  without  thinking  of  the 
circumstance. 

The  reader  will  now  have  to  make  a  little  allow- 
ance, as  I  am  writing  entirely  from  memory,  and  there 
was  so  much  crowding  upon  me  at  this  time,  I  will  have 
to  go  ahead  and  write  as  it  comes  to  my  mind,  regard- 
less of  dates.  I  have  heretofore  been  able  to  place  inci- 
dents in  regular  order  tolerably  well ;  possibly  I  may,  in 
writing  the  next  few  months'  history,  get  a  little  mixed 
as  to  which  first  occurred,  but  not  as  to  facts. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  in  Salt  Lake  City  I  called  on 
Governor  Woods  and  told  him  something  about  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  at  the  Uintah  agency,  informing  him  that, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  there  was  no  flour  or  other  provi- 
sions at  the  agency,  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Indians  to 
leave  there.     Mr.  Woods  agreed  to  assist  me  in  bring- 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  1 99 

ing  the  matter  before  the  proper  department.  My 
intention  was  to  visit  Washington  to  see  in  person  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  in  behalf  of  the  Utes;  I  had 
sufficient  evidence  to  show  cause  for  complaint.  Advis- 
ing and  persuading  the  Indians  to  leave  the  agency  was 
entirely  my  own  work ;  I  was  satisfied  that  nothing  would 
be  done  unless  some  move  was  made  worth  noticing. 
I  had,  as  before  stated,  visited  the  people  in  Sanpete 
county  and  got  their  consent  for  the  Indians  to  come  in. 
The  Indians  were  now  on  the  road  and  would  soon  be 
located  in  Thistle  Valley,  where  they  had  agreed  to  stop. 
I  was  to  meet  them  there  as  soon  as  they  were  in,  get 
things  in  shape  and  then,  if  necessary,  go  to  Washington. 
About  the  time  the  Indians  got  in  Secretary  Delano 
arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City,  passing  through  on  a  visit. 
Seeing  his  name  among  the  hotel  arrivals,  I  called  to  see 
him  and  made  my  business  known.  He  treated  me  with 
much  respect,  making  many  inquiries  about  Indians  and 
Indian  agents  in  general,  admitting  that  the  government 
had  more  trouble  with  them  than  any  other  officers  in 
the  service,  and  asked  me  what  I  thought  was  the  reason 
of  this.  I  said  the  wages  were  too  small ;  that  no 
man  could  support  himself,  especially  in  an  expensive 
place  such  as  agents  generally  had  to  occupy,  on  the  pit- 
tance the  government  allowed  them.  This  often  forced 
them  into  dishonest  speculations.  Mr.  Delano  admitted 
that  my  explanations  looked  reasonable.  After  listening 
to  what  I  had  to  say  for  the  Indians,  he  said  if  I  could 
bring  him  such  testimonials  from  some  of  the  govern- 
ment officials  as  would  warrant  him  in  noticing  me  as  an 
honorable  man  he  would  listen  to  and  cause  action  to  be 
•  taken  on  my  report.  I  told  him  about  my  conversation 
with  Governor  Woods  and  his  seeming  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  Indians.     Mr.  Delano  sent  for  Governor 


200  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Woods.  In  the  meantime  I  went  to  a  prominent  lawyer, 
Mr.  R — n,  whom  I  knew  to  have  much  influence  with  the 
officials,  and  payed  him  a  liberal  fee  to  make  out  the 
necessary  testimonial  and  get  the  needed  endorsers. 
This  did  not  require  much  time.  I  presented  my  papers 
to  Secretary  Delano.  He  said  he  would  have  the  mat- 
ter investigated  and  advised  me  to  see  Mr.  G.  W.  Dodge, 
who  had  lately  been  appointed  special  agent  for  Utah 
and  Nevada,  and  report  to  him  and  inform  him  of  the 
condition  of  affairs. 

When  I  called  on  Mr.  Dodge  he  seemed  much  inter- 
ested and  agreed  to  go  to  Sanpete  Valley  and  visit  the 
Utes  on  their  arrival,  promising  me  that  he  would  see 
that  they  were  cared  for.  I  agreed  to  meet  him  there. 
Accordingly,  when  the  Indians  were  encamped  in  Thistle 
Valley,  not  long  after  my  arrival  in  Salt  Lake  City,  I 
went  to  Fairview,  where  I  met  Mr.  Dodge.  A  party  of 
us  accompanied  him  to  the  Indian  camp,  some  fourteen 
miles  distant.  Several  hundred  Indians  were  there. 
This  was  quite  a  move.  For  several  years  most  of  the 
Indians  had  been  at  war,  stealing,  robbing  and  killing. 
Now  they  were  all  In  to  visit  their  old  acquaintances  as 
friends.  Many  of  the  settlers  had  seen  their  friends  and 
kindred  killed  by  these  same  Indians.  If  any  mishap  had 
occurred  I  would  have  borne  the  blame,  as  I  had  been 
instrumental  in  bringing  this  move  about. 

On  arriving  at  the  camp  Mr.  Dodge  seemed  a  little 
lost.  It  was  the  first  Indian  camp  he  had  ever  visited. 
He  professed  great  friendship.  The  Indians  said  to  me: 
'*He  talks  good,  but  his  eyes  have  dirt  In  them." 

A  number  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Fairview  and 
Mt.  Pleasant  went  over.  The  meeting  with  the  Indians 
was  friendly.  Each  party  really  desired  peace.  Mr. 
Dodge  appointed  a  meeting  to  take  place  In  Fairview 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  20I 

next  day,  where  he  desired  to  see  all  the  chiefs  and  have 
a  big  talk  with  them.  There  were  some  thirty  of  the 
principal  Indians  came  over.  Douglas,  of  the  White 
river  Utes,  who  spoke  English,  being  at  the  head. 

Mr  Dodge  had  employed  several  interpreters  to 
assist  in  the  talk.  He  wished  to  be  fully  understood. 
For  some  cause  he  seemed  to  rather  slight  me  as  inter- 
preter; so  when  the  meeting  was  opened  Mr.  Dodge 
commenced  and  made  quite  a  speech,  and  called  on  one 
of  his  interpreters  to  explain  what  he  had  said  and 
invited  the  Indians  to  reply.  The  speech  was  interpreted, 
but  the  Indians  said  nothing.  Then  another  speech  was 
made  and  another  interpreter  explained  with  the  same 
results. 

Finally,  Mr.  Dodge  was  determined  to  make  an 
impression.  He  began  and  told  the  Indians  of  his  love 
for  the  red  man ;  and  of  his  big  heart  that  swelled  so 
large  that  all  the  ties  of  home  and  friends  could  not  hold 
it  back,  but  it  had  grown  in  him  till  it  had  reached  clear 
out  to  the  wilds  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  penetrating 
into  the  camps  of  the  much  abused  natives ;  that  he  was 
here  as  their  friend,  sent  here  by  "Washington"  to  see 
that  all  their  rights  were  respected  and  grievances 
redressed. 

Still  there  was  no  answer  from  the  Indians.  Mr. 
Dodge  was  now  almost  exhausted.  The  Indians  recog- 
nized me  as  their  representative  and  were  intent  on 
silence  until  I  was  noticed.  Finally  I  said  to  Mr.  Dodge : 
"With  your  permission  I  will  talk  a  little  to  the  chiefs 
present.  I  have  been  acting  as  their  friend  and  I  think 
they  will  talk  if  I  request  them  to." 

He  said  he  would  like  to  hear  what  the  principal 
men  had  to  say.  I  told  the  Indians  to  explain  to  Mr. 
Dodge  why  they  had   left  the   agency  and   what   their 


202  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

desires  were.  Several  then  spoke  in  turn,  recounting- 
how  they  had  been  defrauded  out  of  the  government 
appropriations ;  that  if  they  could  have  their  rights  they 
could  live  in  peace.  Douglas,  being  the  last  speaker, 
did  not  use  an  interpreter.  He  said:  "The  man  from 
*  Washington'  talks  good  and  makes  good  promises,  and 
I  hope  it  is  all  true,  but  I  am  afraid  it  will  all  be  a  lie 
pretty  soon.  'Washington'  has  sent  to  us  a  heap  of  men, 
All  of  them  talk  good  when  they  first  come  but  in  two 
or  three  moons,  most  of  their  talk  proves  lies.  Some  in 
two  moons,  some  in  three,  some  in  six.  One  man's  talk 
was  good  for  one  snow;  then  it  was  a  lie,  same  as  the 
others.  This  man  here  now,  looks  like  the  man  who 
lasted  two  moons.  Maybe  the  talk  is  all  good,  but  I 
think  in  two  moons  may  be  it  will  be  all  lies.  I  know 
Washington  means  to  be  good  to  us.  His  heart  is  good, 
most  too  good.  He  has  many  hungry  men  come  to  him  I 
for  something  to  eat;  they  have  slim  faces  and  long 
beards  and  look  hungry ;  and  they  cry  and  tell  Washing- 
ton they  have  nothing  to  eat.  Then  Washington  gets 
tired  of  their  crying  and  makes  them  agents  and  sends 
them  out  here,  and  they  take  all  Washington  sends  us.  i 
I  don't  think  this  is  right.  They  ought  to  send  men  who 
are  not  so  poor  and  starved,  then  they  would  not  take 
our  flour  and  we  would  have  plenty." 

This  is  Douglas's  speech  in  substance.  Mr.  Dodge 
did  not  reply  farther  than  to  say  he  would  see  to  their 
wants.  J 

From  Sanpete  we  went  down  to  visit  the  Indians  in  * 
Grass  Valley.  They  had  been  stealing  had  taken  quite 
a  band  of  horses  lately.  They  were  not  of  the  Uintah 
tribe.  On  visiting  them,  a  treaty  was  made,  the  agent 
agreeing  to  make  them  some  presents.  The  Indians 
agreed  to  bring  back  the  horses. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  203. 

I  knew  very  well  that  no  treaty  would  be  considered 
by  the  Indians  until  the  goods  promised  were  delivered. 
I  told  Mr.  Dodge  so.  He  said  the  government  had  not 
furnished  him  with  any  goods,  neither  would  they  get 
any  till  he  could  send  to  New  York  for  them.  I  told 
him  I  had  goods  along  with  me  that  he  could  have. 
Some  $350.00  worth.  He  said  he  was  not  authorized  to 
pay  more  than  New  York  prices,  and  freight.  I  replied, 
"You  can  take  mine  now,  and  when  you  find  what  New 
York  prices  are,  you  can  pay  me." 

He  took  my  goods,  enough  to  ratify  the  treaty. 
The  Indians  kept  their  contract  to  bring  in  the  horses, 
but  I  do  not  know  whether  Mr.  Dodge  ever  learned 
what  New  York  prices  were  or  not. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


Whisky  Sold  to  the  Indians — I  Forbid  the  Traffic — Douglas  and  his 
Band  Demand  an  Order  to  get  Fire-water — They  Threaten  to 
Kill  me — My  Trick  on  them  for  Threatening  me — Mr.  Dodge 
Orders  the  Indians  back  to  the  Reservation — They  Refuse  to  go 
— Trouble  Brewing — Peaceable  Settlement. 

DURING  the  time  the  Indians  were  in  Thistle  valley^ 
there  were  a  number  of  persons  mean  enough  to 
sell  them  whisky.  This  was  a  dangerous  business,  and 
I  did  all  in  my  power  to  stop  it. 

After  returning  from  Grass  valley,  I  camped  near 
the  Indians  in  Thisde.  I  also  visited  the  Sanpete  settle- 
ments and  watched  the  moves  and  did  what  I  could  to 
keep  peace.  There  were  quite  a  number  opposed  to  the 
Indians  being  around  and  expressed  themselves  quite 


204  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

freely ;  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  people  were  desir- 
ous of  peace.  The  whisky  selling  was  the  great  evil, 
likely  to  bring  on  trouble  at  any  time.  Finally,  through 
threatening  the  whisky  sellers  with  prosecution,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  frightening  them  off,  all  except  one  man  at 
Moroni,  who  still  had  not  given  up  the  business.  Doug- 
las and  some  fifteen  others  obtained  whisky  from  this 
rascal,  sufficient  to  get  well  started  on  a  drunk,  then 
came  on  to  Fairview,  went  to  where  they  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  getting  whisky  and  wanted  more.  Here 
they  were  told  by  D.  S.  that  Jones  had  stopped  him  sell- 
ing whisky  and  that  none  could  be  had  without  a  written 
order  from  him. 

The  Indians  had  just  enough  to  fire  them  up  for 
more,  so  they  struck  for  my  camp,  twelve  miles  distant, 
in  full  charge.  No  one  was  with  me  but  my  son  Wiley, 
then  about  thirteen  years  of  age.  Soon  I  was  charged 
upon  by  three  or  four  drunken  Indians,  demanding  of  me 
that  I  should  give  them  an  order  for  whisky.  I  told  them 
I  would  not.  One  Indian  had  a  pencil  and  paper.  He 
offered  it  to  me,  saying:  "You  must  now  write,  or  we 
will  kill  you."  Still  I  refused.  Others  were  now  arriv- 
ing. Soon  the  whole  crowd  was  upon  me ;  all  were 
excited  and  just  drunk  enough  to  be  mean. 

I  told  my  son  to  sit  still ;  not  to  move  or  say  a  word. 
This  he  did,  not  seeming  to  notice  what  was  going  on. 
Many  times  it  looked  as  though  my  time  had  come,  for 
numerous  guns  were  aimed  at  me  at  different  times, 
seemingly  with  the  full  intention  of  pulling  the  trigger. 
When  one  Indian  would  fail  to  shoot,  another  would 
crowd  in  with  his  gun  aimed  at  me,  saying,  "I  will  shoot 
if  you  don't  write."  Many  of  them  took  hold  of  my 
hand  and  tried  to  make  me  write,  but  I  was  determined 
that  I  would  not. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  205 

Finally,  I  became  so  overcome  and  weary  with  the 
excitement  and  effort  to  resist  their  demand,  that  I 
almost  became  indifferent  to  life.  It  really  looked  as 
though  I  might  get  shot.  So  I  begged  them  to  be  still  a 
minute  and  hear  me ;  then,  if  they  wanted  to,  they  could 
kill  me.  All  became  quiet.  I  told  them  that  I  had 
always  been  their  friend  and  was  now  working  for  their 
good ;  referred  to  the  hard  trips  across  the  snow  mount- 
ains to  do  them  good,  and  that  I  would  still  like  to  live, 
as  I  had  not  finished  the  work  I  was  doing  for  them. 
And  it  was  as  their  friend  that  I  had  forbidden  anyone 
selling  them  whisky,  because  it  made  them  fools  and  bad 
men — so  much  so  that  they  were  now  abusing  me,  the 
best  friend  they  had ;  that  I  had  agreed  with  God  to  be 
their  friend  and  never  shed  any  of  their  blood ;  and  that 
I  would  die  before  I  would  sign  the  papers,  and  if  they 
killed  me  God  would  not  be  their  friend. 

I  was  now  so  exhausted  and  sleepy  that  I  could 
scarcely  keep  awake,  although  it  was  mid-day.  So  I  told 
the  Indians  I  was  tired  and  would  lie  down  and  go  to 
sleep,  and  if  they  were  determined  to  kill  me  to  wait  till 
I  was  asleep,  then  put  their  guns  close  to  my  head,  so  I 
would  not  suffer  much,  telling  them  I  asked  this  as  their 
friend.  I  spread  my  blankets  on  the  ground,  laid  down 
and  I  am  sure  it  was  not  more  than  two  minutes  till  I 
was  sound  asleep.  My  little  son  still  sat  silent.  After 
sleeping  quite  a  while  I  felt  someone  pulling  at  my  foot. 
On  looking  up  I  discovered  that  most  of  the  Indians 
were  lying  around  me  asleep.  My  son  was  also  sound 
asleep.  The  Indian  pulling  at  me  asked  me  to  get  up 
and  sell  him  something  he  wanted.  I  told  him  I  was  too 
sick  to  get  up.  He  insisted,  but  I  was  determined  to 
be  sick.  Soon  others  tried  to  ruose  me,  but  I  knew  as 
long  as   I  lay  in  bed  I  was  all   right.     Finally  all  the 


206  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Indians  left.  I  now  wakened  Wiley  and  asked  him 
about  how  the  Indians  acted  when  I  went  to  sleep.  He 
said  that  one  after  another  came  near  and  looked  at  me 
without  saying  a  word.  Then  they  all  laid  down  around 
me  and  went  to  sleep ;  that  finally  he  got  sleepy  and  also 
laid  down. 

I  concluded  to  play  them  a  little  game  for  this,  for  I 
knew  when  sober  the  Indians  were  faithful  to  me,  and  I 
-did  not  want  another  experience  of  this  kind.  Wiley 
watched,  and  whenever  an  Indian  approached  I  would 
cover  up — sick.  We  had  a  lot  of  trade,  but  I  was  too 
sick  to  do  anything.  When  they  wanted  to  know  what 
ailed  me  I  told  them  my  heart  was  sick ;  that  it  felt  so 
bad  I  could  do  nothing.  This  continued  day  after  day 
till  the  Indians  became  really  uneasy,  for  fear  I  would 
die.  Finally,  Tabby  and  others  came  and  made  me  pres- 
•ents  of  buckskins  and  beavers  and  begged  me  to  forgive 
the  Indians  who  had  threatened  me,  saying  that  if  I 
would  live  and  be  their  friend  they  never  would  say 
whisky  to  me  again.  And  if  they  ever  got  drunk  they 
would  go  away  to  the  mountains  and  not  come  near  me. 
I  finally  got  well,  much  to  their  joy.  To  show  the  danger 
I  was  in,  a  few  days  after  this  affair  two  Indians  were 
Tcilled  in  a  drunken  row  among  themselves. 

Soon  after  returning  to  the  city  Mr.  Dodge  seemed 
to  change  his  tactics.  He  informed  me  that  it  was  his 
intention  to  order  the  Indians  back  to  the  reservation  at 
once ;  and  that  he  would  make  me  no  promises  whatever. 
I  told  him  the  Indians  expected  something  as  there  was 
nothing  at  the  reservation  when  they  left  except  a  litde 
flour.  The  most  of  the  Indians  from  Uintah  were  now 
camped  near  Nephi.  Mr.  Dodge  went  out  there  and 
preemptorily  ordered  them  back  to  the  agency. 

Tabby  told  him  they  would  not  go  back  until  there 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  207 

was  something  sent  with  them  as  they  would  as  soon  die 
fighting  as  to  starve.  The  Indians  had  agreed  with  me 
that  they  would  not  fight  but  would  hold  out  as  long  as 
they  could,  but  would  give  up  and  go  back  if  pressed. 
I  had  been  forbidden  to  go  among  the  Indians  any  more 
under  penalty  of  arrest  for  inducing  the  Indians  to  leave 
the  reservation.  I  began  to  feel  a  little  uneasy  when  I 
heard  now  Tabby  had  talked,  that  he  had  forgotten  his 
promise  to  me.  I  tried  to  get  permission  to  go  and  see 
the  Indians,  offering  to  guarantee  that  they  would  go 
back  peaceably  if  I  could  have  a  talk  with  them,  but  was 
still  refused  the  privilege. 

The  condition  of  affairs  was  telegraphed  to 
Washington.  Much  excitement  prevailed.  Many  per- 
sons blamed  me  for  getting  the  Indians  into  the  settle- 
ments, and  some  favored  their  being  whipped  back.  A 
good  many  sensational  stories  came  from  Sanpete,  the 
Indians  being  accused  of  many  things  they  did  not  do. 
The  telegraph  operator  of  one  of  the  settlements  was 
knocked  in  the  head  by  some  one.  This  was  laid  to  the 
Indians.  It  afterwards  proved  to  be  a  white  man  that 
committed  the  deed. 

I  was  working  continually  to  counteract  these  stories 
for  I  had  faith  in  the  Indians.  The  only  thing  I  dreaded 
was  the  selling  of  whisky  to  the  Indians  by  some  of  the 
settlers.  A  drunken  Indian  is  dangerous  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. Finally  a  commission  arrived  from  Wash- 
ington to  inquire  into  the  affair.  I  had  already  offered 
some  affidavits  I  had,  to  Mr.  Dodge,  to  prove  some 
things  against  the  management  of  the  agent  at  Uintah, 
but  he  had  not  taken  them  from  me.  Mr.  Dodge  fully 
expected  that  I  would  offer  these  in  evidence  before  the 
^commission,  but  I  had  become  convinced  that  the  agent 


208  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

was  a  better  man  than  the  one  who  had  been  appointed 
to  superintend  affairs  ;  so  I  told  Mr.  Dodge  that  I  had 
concluded  to  say  nothing  more  about  the  agent. 

He  flew  into  a  terrible  rage,  and  said  I  would  have 
to  go  ahead;  that  I  could  not  back  out  as  he  had  made 
a  contract,  with  a  Mr.  Popper  for  several  hundred  beef 
cattle  that  were  then  being  sent  to  the  agency  for  the 
Indians;  and  that  unless  the  agent  was  prosecuted  and 
turned  out,  the  government  would  not  sustain  him  in 
what  he  had  done,  and  that  if  I  did  not  go  ahead,  I  would 
be  prosecuted  for  libel.  I  asked  him  what  he  would 
make  out  of  it,  and  told  him  if  I  had  said  anything 
against  the  agent  I  would  apologize  for  it,  and  that  I  did 
not  intend  to  interfere  in  the  agent's  business  any  more. 

I  had  learned  enough  to  know  that  the  Indians 
would  get  the  cattle,  but  Charles  Popper  had  quite  a 
time  getting  his  pay  for  them,  but  finally  did. 

The  superintendent  was  now  down  on  me  fully  and 
completely.  So  when  the  commission  met  in  his  office. 
General  Morrow  being  present  (I  was  watching  all  the 
moves  continually),  I  walked  in.  Mr.  Dodge  ordered 
me  out.  I  replied  that  I  was  an  interested  party ;  that 
I  represented  the  Indians  and  did  not  intend  to  go  out: 
that  there  was  a  sign  ouside  the  door  which  allowed  me, 
as  an  American  citizen,  to  walk  in,  and  that  my  business 
was  such  as  warranted  my  coming  in.  General  Morrow 
said  he  would  like  to  have  me  stay,  so  permission  was 
given  me  to  remain. 

The  question  being  considered  was  whether  the 
Indians  should  be  induced  to  return  to  the  reservation 
by  telling  them  they  were  to  have  plenty  of  provisions, 
or  whether  an  order  should  be  given  the  military  com- 
mander to  force  them  back  with  arms  without  any  prom- 
ise being  made  them.     I  made  the  best  fight  I  could  in 


1 

I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  209 

behalf  of  the  Indians,  but  I  said  nothing  against  the 
agent  at  the  reservation.  Dodge  could  not,  as  he  had 
no  evidence  in  his  possession,  so  the  agent  was  not 
brought  into  question. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  very  angry  and  desired  war,  and 
worked  until  he  won,  getting  an  order  issued  to  General 
Morrow  to  take  his  troops  and  drive  the  Indians  back. 
Now,  some  might  think  I  had  done  all  I  could,  but  I  was 
determined  not  to  give  up.  So  on  going  out  into  the 
street  I  asked  General  Morrow  if  I  could  talk  to  him. 
He  said,    "No,  I  have   no  time.     I  have   to  go  and  whip 

these  d d  Indians  back   to  the  reservation."     Still  I 

did  not  give  up.  I  felt  almost  desperate,  for  if  the 
Indians  had  resisted,  it  would  have  reflected  on  me 
for  getting  them  away  from  the  agency.  My  intention 
was,  if  necessary,  to  go  and  see  them  and  take  the  con- 
sequences. 

General  Morrow  and  some  other  officers  mounted 
their  horses  and  started  for  camp.  He  was  hardly  in  his 
quarters  before  I  was  there.  I  had  been  to  his  house 
before  and  been  introduced  to  his  wife.  When  I  called, 
the  General  treated  me  pleasantly  and  asked  what  he 
could  do  for  me.  I  told  him  I  had  called  to  see  his  wife ; 
that  I  wanted  to  get  her  to  help  me  to  try  and  persuade 
him  not  to  make  war  on  the  Indians  if  it  could  possibly 
be  avoided.  I  believe  General  Morrow  thought  me  a 
little  crazy.  Finally  he  promised  me  that  he  would  not 
fire  a  gun  until  I  had  the  privilege  of  going  and  talking 
to  the  Indians.  I  now  felt  satisfied  for  I  knew  that  they 
would  listen  to  me,  as  they  had  pledged  themselves  to 
take  my  advice.  It  was  not  the  intention  of  Mr.  Dodge 
to  let  the  Indians  know  that  anything  would  be  sent 
immediately  to  the  agency ;  but  as  I  had  learned  about 
the  beef  cattle  I  intended  informing  them. 
13 


2IO  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

I  went  and  talked  with  D.  B.  Huntington.  He  was 
pretty  well  posted  on  what  I  was  doing  and  was  in 
sympathy  with  me.  He  was  a  good  interpreter  and  was 
not  known  by  Mr.  Dodge.  Dimick  went  out  and 
explained  my  situation  to  the  Indians,  that  I  had  been 
forbidden  by  Mr.  Dodge  to  visit  them ;  that  I  did  not 
want  them  to  resist  but  to  listen  to  General  Morrow  and 
go  back  to  the  agency  peaceably.  The  Indians  met  at 
Springville,  where  General  Morrow  listened  to  them.  I 
was  not  present  but  kept  track  of  all  the  moves.  The 
Indians  were  perfectly  willing  now  to  return  and  made 
no  offer  of  resistance.  Several  hundred  sacks  of  flour 
as  well  as  the  beef  cattle  mentioned,  were  sent  out.  The 
Indians  were  now  happy.  So  far  my  aims  were  accom- 
plished. Peace  had  been  made  and  confirmed  between 
the  white  people  and  hostile  Utes.  Government  had 
taken  notice  of  their  condition,  and  provisions  had  been 
sent.  All  this  had  been  done  on  the  stir  I  had  been  the 
means  of  making. 

The  agent  at  Uintah  was  not  consulted  and  nothing 
had  been  done  in  his  name  or  by  his  authority ;  neither 
was  he  in  any  way  implicated,  as  not  one  word  of  testi- 
mony stood  against  him.  So  he  ignored  the  cattle  pur- 
chased, came  in  and  bought  supplies,  and  went  on  as 
usual  with  his  agency  business.  Mr.  Dodge  was  cen- 
sured and  dismissed  from  office  for  getting  up  all  the 
trouble. 

There  were  several  attempts  made  to  get  some 
papers  I  had  in  my  possession,  but  I  kept  them.for  future 
use,  if  needed.  I  never  have  heard  of  any  material 
trouble  between  the  Mormons  and  Utes  since  that  time. 
The  agent  took  hold  in  good  shape  and  the  Indians  after- 
ward spoke  well  of  him.  During  this  whole  business  I 
worked  without  counsel  or  advice  from   any  one,  except 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  2  I  I 

the  advice  first  given  by  G.  A.  Smith.  I  acted  as  a 
trader  most  of  the  time,  but  my  main  business  was  to 
establish  peace.  It  cost  considerable  time  and  money, 
and  when  I  got  through  there  was  a  debt  of  some 
$1200.00  against  me  at  Z.  C.  M.I.  Brother  Brigham 
ordered  the  account  sent  to  him  for  settlement. 

Several  years  after  this,  whilst  living  in  Arizona,  I 
received  a  letter  from  a  former  friend  of  the  agent,  ask- 
ing me  for  the  papers  I  had,  saying  that  with  them  and 
what  they  had,  they  thought  they  could  make  a  case 
against  this  same  agent.  I  replied  to  them  that  if  they 
had  to  go  back  so  far  for  evidence  it  was  clear  to  me 
that  the  agent  was  doing  pretty  well ;  that  I  had  not 
heard  of  the  Indians  complaining  of  late  years  and  that 
I  had  no  papers  for  them.  So  long  as  the  Indians  were 
satisfied  I  cared  nothing   for  disappointed   speculators. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


i 


The  Killing  of  an    Indian   near  Fairview — His  Friends  Visit  me — I 
Advise  them  to  keep  the  Peace  and  they  do  so. 

AFTER  the  Indian  troubles  were  settled  I  was  advised 
to  move  to  Sanpete  valley  to  try  and  keep  an  influ- 
ence for  peace  with  the  whites  as  well  as  the  Utes.  The 
authorities  of  Sanpete  County,  together  with  the  greater 
portion  of  the  people  approved  of  my  labors,  and  were 
glad  that  peace  was  now  made,  whilst  some  of  the  more 
captious  found  fault  and  used  their  influence  to  bring 
about  a  collision  hoping  thereby  to  get  the  Indians  killed 
by  setting  the  troops   upon  them.     I  believed  then  and 


2  12  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Still  do  that  some  things  laid  to  the  Indians  was  the  work 
of  white  men  and  designed  for  effect. 

In  justice  to  the  Indian  side  of  the  question,  I  will 
say  that  most  of  the  annoyance  was  done  by  drunken 
Indians,  a  party  of  which  attacked  the  herd  boys  coming 
into  Fairview,  killing  one  of  them.  This  was  supposed 
to  be  a  personal  affair  as  these  same  Indians  passed 
other  boys  about  the  same  time  without  molesting  them. 

Some  time  after  peace  had  been  considered  fully 
established  an  Indian  was  murdered  in  cold  blood  by  a 
party  of  whites  going  out  after  wood  from  Fairview. 
The  body  was  covered  up  but  was  finally  discovered  by 
the  Indians.  The  killing  was  cowardly  in  the  extreme, 
and  more  treacherous  than  anything  I  ever  remember 
done  by  the  Indians.  The  exact  number  I  have  forgot- 
ten, but  some  six  or  eight  young  men  were  going  out  to 
the  cedars  for  wood.  They  met  a  lone  Indian  coming  in 
from  Thistle  Valley  on  his  way  to  Fairview.  At  that  time 
this  was  nothing  unusual.  The  wood  haulers  spoke 
friendly  to  the  Indian,  and  asked  him  to  go  with  them 
into  the  cedars,  and  as  soon  as  they  loaded  up  he  could 
ride  into  town  with  them.  The  Indian  had  no  suspicion 
of  anything  wrong,  and  I  do  not  believe  the  wood 
haulers  at  first  thought  of  killing  him.  He  went  out 
into  the  cedars,  staying  around  while  the  loading  was 
going  on.     After  a   while    someone   suggested  that   it 

would  be  a  good  chance  to  kill  the  "d d  Indian"  and 

hide  him  away,  others  assented.  So  much  was  said  that 
the  Indian,  who  understood  some  of  their  talk,  became 
uneasy  and  started  to  leave.  At  this  one  of  the  party 
shot  him.  All  being  armed  with  pistols  now  took  part 
and,  as  the  Indian  ran,  the  whole  party  fired  at  and  suc- 
ceeded in  killing  him.  They  buried  him  among  the 
cedars,  covering  him  mainly  with  brush. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  213 

When  the  Indians  discovered  his  body  they  came  to 
me  feeling  very  badly.  The  Indians  really  desired  peace. 
The  murdered  Indian  in  fact  belonged  to  a  band  that 
never  had  been  of  the  worst.  I  was  now  living  in  Fair- 
view.  I  was  greatly  mortified  and  scarcely  knew  how  to 
answer,  for  I  was  aware  it  would  be  natural  for  the 
Indians  to  seek  blood  for  blood,  and  it  was  a  little  sur- 
prise to  me  that  they  stopped  to  consider,  but  as  they  had 
come  to  iTie  I  took  courage  and  commenced  talking, 
reciting  a  great  deal  of  the  Indian  history  from  the 
earliest  settling  of  Utah,  acknowledging  that  the  first 
blood  shed  was  that  of  an  Indian  on  the  Provo  bottom, 
also  admitting  that  they  had  often  been  wronged ;  referred 
to  the  hard  labor  that  I  had  done  in  crossing  the  snow 
mountains,  and  how  I  had  got  them  beef  and  flour  and 
made  good  peace  between  them  and  the  Mormons,  and 
how  true  the  Indians  had  been  to  me,  and  how  sick  my 
heart  now  was  that  this  had  occurred. 

I  was  not  acting,  for  it  was  a  cruel  thing,  besides 
being  so  senseless.  Finally,  when  I  had  got  the  Indians 
to  feel  that  I  fully  sympathized  with  them,  I  said  to  them, 
''Someone  has  to  be  the  last  or  this  killing  will  never 
cease.  Now  as  some  persons,  without  cause,  have  killed 
one  of  your  people.  If  you  kill  a  Mormon  to  pay  for  it, 
won't  some  bad  Mormon  kill  another  Indian  ?  Then 
when  am  I  ever  to  see  good  peace?  If  you  will  pass  this 
by  and  let  this  be  the  last,  I  don't  believe  there  will  be 
any  more  killing  ;  for  when  the  Mormons  know  that  an 
Indian  was  last  killed  they  will  be  ashamed,  and  the  men 
who  killed*  your  friend  will  be  despised  by  all  good 
people." 

At  last  these  Indians  consented  and  agreed  not  to 
kill  anyone  in  retaliation.  I  have  never  heard  of  their 
breaking    this     promise.       I    would    ask     those     who 


214  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

are  so  down  on  the  ''treacherous  Indians"  to  think  of 
this. 

My  labors  with  the  Utes  were  now  almost  ended. 
I  had  already  been  asked  to  get  ready  to  go  to  Mexico 
on  a  mission.  An  account  of  which  will  be  given  in 
subsequent  chapters. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 


The  Salt  Lake  City  Election  in  1874 — Deputy  Marshals  Attempt  to 
Run  Things — Mayor  Wells'  Order — The  Mob  Dispersed — Captain 
Burt  and  his  Men  make  some  Sore  Heads. 

ONE  item  of  home  history  that  I  took  a  small  part  in 
I  will  mention.  At  the  August  election  of  city 
officers  of  1874  there  was  an  attempt  made  by  the  U.  S. 
marshal  to  control  the  polls.  This  was  disputed  by  the 
municipal  officers.  Maxwell,  the  U.  S.  marshal,  had  a 
large  number  of  deputies  sworn  in.  Milton  Orr  was  at 
that  time  the  regular  deputy  and  took  the  active  control 
of  the  special  deputies.  This  election  occurred  soon 
after  the  passage  of  the  Poland  Bill. 

The  Liberals  were  on  their  "high  heels"  and  believed 
that  they  had  now  the  right  and  power  to  put  down  Mor- 
mon rule  in  Salt  Lake  City.  During  the  day  there 
was  continued  contention  who  should  act  as  police  or  pro- 
tectors of  the  polls.  The  marshals  interfered  continually, 
and  when  the  police  attempted  to  do  their  duty  they  were 
arrested  by  the  deputies  and  taken  before  the  U.  S. 
Commissioner  and  put  under  bonds.  Several  times 
during  the  day  the  spirit  of  lawlessness  ran  so  high  that 


I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  215 

a  collision  seemed  inevitable.  The  police  acted  with 
great  coolness  and  forbearance,  only  working  to  keep 
the  polls  unobstructed,  but  making  no  resistance  when 
insulted  or  arrested,  neither  acting  against  the  rioters  so 
long  as  they  kept  clear  of  the  polls.  Many  times  during 
the  day  men  would  yell  out  that  the  Mormons  had  run 
this  country  as  long  as  they  could,  that  their  day  was 
done,  boasting,  swearing  and  defying  the  police  to  help 
themselves.  This  was  immediately  in  front  of  the  City 
Hall,  some  of  the  mob  even  crowding  into  the  hallway. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  mob  became  so  aggressive 
and  the  polls  so  obstructed  that  people  wishing  to  vote 
could  not  get  in.  The  marshals  headed  this  obstruction. 
The  police  seemingly  had  no  power  to  keep  order.  Cap- 
tain Burt  sent  word  to  Mayor  Wells  asking  for  instruc- 
tions. Mayor  Wells  soon  appeared  on  the  ground  and 
managed  to  work  his  way  through  the  crowd  and  get 
into  the  door  of  the  polling  room.  The  regular  police 
were  mostly  on  the  inside  of  the  city  hall  at  that  time. 
The  mayor  commanded  the  crowd  to  disperse  and  leave 
the  entrance  clear.  This  he  uttered  by  authority  of  his 
office.  There  were  possibly  two  hundred  persons  in  the 
crowd.  The  room  was  full  and  the  doors  completely 
blocked  and  the  sidewalk  crowded.  Many  were  in  the 
street  and  more  coming,  cursing  and  yelling.  Some  of 
the  leaders,  now  more  or  less  intoxicated,  when  the 
order  was  given  to  disperse,  instead  of  obeying,  made  an 
attack  on  the  mayor.  They  were  led  by  Milton  Orr,  who 
seized  hold  of  Mr.  Wells  and  attempted  to  drag  him 
from  his  position.  Mayor  Wells  resisted  this  move. 
Several  others  now  caught  hold  of  him,  tearing  his 
clothes. 

I  was  just  at  the  outer  side  of  the  sidewalk  in  com- 
pany with  George   Crismon.     As  we    saw  this  violent 


2l6  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

move  against  the  mayor  we  started  through  the  crowd, 
George  taking  the  lead.  And  I  always  remembered  his 
expertness  in  opening  a  way,  for  we  were  soon  on  hand. 
The  noise  was  so  terrific  that  I  had  to  put  my  mouth 
close  to  Mr.  Wells'  ear.  I  asked  him  which  way  he 
wished  to  go.  The  jam  was  on  both  sides  of  him.  I 
naturally  supposed  he  wanted  to  get  away,  for  the  mob 
seemed  to  want  to  rend  him  in  pieces  and  were  doing 
their  best  to  accomplish  it. 

Brother  Wells  answered,  "I  do  not  want  to  go  either 
way.  I  shall  stay  here  if  I  can  ;  you  help  me  to  keep  my 
place." 

Brother  Crismon  did  all  he  could  to  keep  the  mob 
off.  I  caught  Brother  Wells  around  the  waist  and  held 
him  against  those  pulling  at  him.  His  clothes  were  badly 
torn  in  the  scuffle. 

While  this  was  going  on.  Brother  Andrew  Smith,  of 
the  police  force,  managed  to  get  near  us  from  the  inside. 
He  called  to  me  to  push  Brother  Wells  to  him. 

I  said,  "He  don't  want  to  come  in." 

Brother  Smith  said,  ''Never  mind."  At  the  same  time 
reaching  and  getting  hold  of  Brother  Wells,  telling  me 
to  shove  him  in.  This  we  did.  I  always  believed  that 
Mayor  Wells  would  have  died  before  he  would  have 
given  way  to  the  mob  of  his  own  free  will. 

As  the  mayor  went  in  the  door  was  shut  and  I  was 
crowded  outside  with  the  mob.  I  now  felt  quite  small, 
jammed  into  the  doorway,  all  alone  with  the  mob.  I 
could  see  no  friend  near  me,  so  I  kept  very  quiet.  Soon 
Mayor  Wells  appeared  on  the  balcony  of  the  court 
house.  He  looked  rather  delapidated,  but  in  a  clear, 
steady  voice  commanded  the  rioters  to  disperse.  At  this 
they  only  shouted  the  louder,  cursing  and  defying  his 
authority.     He  then  turned  to  Captain  Burt  and  said,  in 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


217 


substance:  "Captain  Burt,  disperse  this  mob  and  clear 
the  side- walk  of  obstruction."  The  mob  had  given  way 
from  just  in  front  of  the  hall  door,  as  the  balcony  was 
immediately  over  it  and  those  under  the  balcony  had 
crowded  out  so  as  to  get  a  view  of  the  mayor. 

In  a  moment  after  the  order  was  given  Captain 
Burt  stepped  out  onto  the  side-walk  in  front  of  the  hall 
door,  followed  by  a  few  regular  police.  Addressing  the 
crowd  immediately  in  front  of  the  polling  room,  he  com- 
manded them  to  disperse. 

Instead  of  obeying  the  order,  the  mob,  with  a  howl 
of  defiance,  rushed  at  the  captain,  who  stood  with  his 
arms  folded.  I  was  looking  from  a  slight  elevation,  being 
on  the  doorstep,  and  powerless  to  do  anything  but  watch, 
so  that  what  I  am  writing  is  just  as  I  saw  it.  As  the 
mob  rushed  at  Captain  Burt  he  let  drive  with  his  police 
club;  instantly  others  of  the  police  pitched  in.  I  have 
seen  a  good  many  knock-downs,  but  men  fell  as  fast  for 
a  short  time  as  I  ever  saw  them.  Most  of  them  were 
U.  S.  marshals.  The  police  were  making  a  clearing 
toward  the  door  where  I  was  jammed  in.  The  mob 
almost  instantly  gave  way.  They  were  so  taken  by  sur- 
prise at  seeing  their  leaders  falling  that  many  who  were 
seemingly  brave  as  lions  a  minute  before  took  to  their 
heels  and  ran  away.  During  all  this  not  a  shot  was 
fired.  So  rapid  and  thorough  was  the  work  of  the  police 
that  I  was  a  little  afraid  of  getting  hit  myself  and  called 
out  to  Capt.  Burt  to  set  'em  up.  One  fellow  that  was 
knocked  down  fell  against  me  as  I  was  getting  out. 

All  the  police  were  arrested  and  brought  to  trial 
before  the  commissioners,  but  were  cleared.  There  were 
many  sore  heads  but  no  one  killed.  The  man's  name 
who  did  the  hardest  hitting  that  day  never  came  up,  and 
without,  his  permission  I  will  not  mention  it. 


2l8  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Sometimes  when  I  see  the  Latter-day  Saints  insulted^ 
accused  and  put  upon  by  their  enemies  as  they  now  are 
in  the  year  1889,  I  think  of  the  good  old  days  when  we 
did  not  bear  as  we  do  today.  Especially  when  it  is  put 
forth  as  though  we  are  cowed  and  dare  not  say  our  souls 
are  our  own.  Often  when  noticing  some  of  the  young 
Mormons  of  today  who  are  toadying  to  the  Gentiles  and 
listening  to  their  flattery,  I  cannot  help  but  contrast  their 
spindle-legged,  dudish  build,  their  supercilious  looks, 
their  effort  to  ape  the  infidelity  of  the  day,  etc.,  with  the 
sturdy,  faithful  boys  who  went  forth  in  the  defence  of 
their  fathers  in  the  days  of  Echo  Canyon,  and  many 
other  duties  of  the  early  days.  Now  why  is  this?  There 
is  too  much  luxury,  indolence  and  false  education.  Many 
suppose  that  education  consists  in  conjugating  verbs. 
My  grammar  says,  ''Man  is  a  verb — that  is,  man  is  made 
to  do,  and  grammar  says  a  verb  is  a  word  to  do." 
Hence,  man  should  be  a  verb  and  not  a  worthless,  do- 
nothing  noun — a  name  of  a  thing. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  2I9 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

President  Young  Requests  Brother  Brizzee  and  Myself  to  Prepare  for  a 
Mission  to  Mexico — Mileton  G.  Trejo  Joins  the  Church — His 
Remarkable  Conversion — I  Report  to  President  Young  that  I  am 
Ready — One  Hundred  Pages  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  Translated 
into  Spanish  and  Printed. 

According  to  the  request  made  by  President  Young  I 
bought  a  lot  and  had  a  good,  comfortable  house 
built  in  Fairview,  Sanpete  Co.,  expecting  to  make  that 
my  future  home.  The  house  was  .not  yet  complete  when 
I  was  called  upon  by  Henry  Brizzee,  about  June,  1874, 
who  told  me  that  President  Young  wished  to  see  him 
and  me  at  his  office  to  talk  with  us  about  a  mission  to 
Mexico,  saying  that  President  Young  understood  that  we 
spoke  the  Spanish  language.  I  had  expected  this  call 
to  come  some  time.  I  had  both  desired  and  dreaded  the 
mission.  My  desire  was  from  a  sense  of  duty.  My 
dread  was  owing  to  the  power  of  Catholicism  that  I  had 
seen  prevail  in  that  land,  while  living  there  from  1847  ^^ 
1850. 

At  that  time  no  man  dared  pass  in  front  of  a  church 
without  raising  his  hat.  Anyone  doing  so  was  most  sure 
to  be  pelted  with  stones  with  a  possibility  of  having  his 
head  broken.  A  priest  passing  along  the  street 
demanded  the  uncovering  of  the  head  by  all  who  met 
him.  A  person's  life  was  in  danger  unless  acting 
promptly  in  conformity  with  all  these  customs.  To  offer 
a  word  against  their  religion  would  be  almost  certain 
death. 

That  the  country  had  been  revolutionized  and  reli- 
gious   freedom    declared    I    had    not   learned.      I    only 


2  20  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

remembered  what  I  had  seen.  I  felt  a  dread  that  tried 
me  severely  while  on  my  way  to  the  office ;  but  before 
arriving  I  had  formed  the  resolution  to  ''face  the  music." 
My  reflections  were:  This  mission  has  to  be  com- 
menced by  someone  and  if  it  is  necessary  for  the 
extreme  sacrifice  to  be  made,  just  as  well  to  be  me  as 
anyone  else. 

On  meeting  President  Young,  he  told  us  that  the 
time  had  come  to  prepare  for  the  introduction  of  the 
gospel  into  Mexico ;  that  there  were  millions  of  the 
descendants  of  Nephi  in  the  land,  and  that  we  were 
under  obligations  to  visit  them.  Asked  us  if  we  were 
willing  to  prepare  for  a  mission.  We  told  him  we  were. 
Nothing  very  definite  was  arranged  at  the  time.  Bro- 
ther Young  said  he  would  like  to  have  some  extracts 
from  the  Book  of  Mormon  translated  to  send  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Mexico;  advised  us  to  get  our  private  affairs 
arranged,  also  to  study  up  our  Spanish  and  prepare  our- 
selves for  translating  and  report  to  him,  and  when  the 
proper  time  came  and  all  was  ready  he  would  let  us 
know.  Some  suggestion  was  made  about  visiting  the 
City  of  Mexico  as  travelers  and  feel  our  way  among  the 
people. 

Brother  Brizzee  and  I  visited  together  often  and 
talked  about  the  work  before  us.  We  began  to  study 
and  prepare  for  translating.  My  own  feelings  were  that 
it  would  require  considerable  study,  although  I  under- 
stood Spanish  quite  well.  Still  to  translate  for  publica- 
tion required  a  more  thorough  scholarship  than  either  of 
us  possessed.  I  often  thought  how  good  it  would  be  to 
have  a  native  Spaniard  to  help  us. 

Some  few  months  after  the  notice  to  get  ready, 
I3rother  Brizzee  called  at  my  house,  accompanied  by  a 
stranger  whom  he  introduced  as  Mileton  G.   Trejo,  a 


I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  221 

Spanish  gentleman  from  the  PhiHppine  Islands  and  was 
an  author  and  a  traveler.  After  conversing  for  some  time 
with  the  gentleman  I  became  hopeful  that  he  was  the  one 
needed  to  assist  in  the  translation,  which  afterwards 
proved  to  be  the  case.  SenorTrejo  told  me  that  he  had 
been  induced  to  come  and  visit  the  Mormon  people 
partly  through  a  dream.  His  account,  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection,  was  that  while  discussing  religion  with  a 
brother  officer  of  the  Spanish  army  when  stationed  on 
the  Philippine  Islands,  he  remarked  that  he  believed  the 
scriptures  literally ;  that  he  did  not  think  anyone  had  the 
right  to  privately  interpret  or  change  them.  His  com- 
rade told  him  he  would  have  to  go  and  join  the  Mormons 
who  lived  in  the  interior  of  America ;  that  he  had  learned 
about  them  from  his  wife,  who  was  an  English  lady,  she 
having  heard  about  the  Mormons  and  their  doctrines  in 
England. 

This  caused  Senor  Trejo  to  reflect  and  study  about 
the  'people,  so  much  so  that  he  made  it  a  subject  of 
prayer.  Finally  he  dreamed  that  if  he  would  go  and  see 
the  Mormons  he  would  be  satisfied.  Accordingly  he 
sold  out  all  his  interests  in  the  Islands,  together  with  his 
commission,  etc.,  bade  farewell  to  his  people  and  friends 
and  came  to  this  country  a  stranger,  not  knowing  anyone 
or  enough  of  the  spoken  English  to  ask  for  a  drink  of 
water.  Unfortunately,  he  was  introduced  to  President 
Young  by  a  party  that  did  not  stand  very  high  in  the 
estimation  of  Brother  Young.  I  have  forgotten  the 
name  of  the  one  introducing  him.  This  had  rather  an 
unfavorable  effect  upon  President  Young,  and  it  was  a 
long  time  before  he  gave  him  his  confidence.  Trejo 
never  resented  the  suspicion,  only  said:  "He  will  know 
me  some  day." 

Brother  Brizzee  took  Trejo  home  with  him  to  live. 


222  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

He  commenced  studying  hard,  reading  and  translating 
the  Voice  of  Warning  the  best  he  could.  He  acquired 
very  rapidly  an  understanding  of  the  English  language, 
and  being  a  graduate  of  the  highest  schools  in  Madrid, 
as  soon  as  he  got  a  clear  understanding  of  the  text  he 
could  write  the  same  in  Spanish,  his  native  tongue. 

Here  I  wish  to  correct  an  error  that  exists  in  the 
minds  of  a  great  many  who  suppose  that  Spanish  is  not 
the  language  of  Mexico.  Pure  Spanish  is  the  language 
of  Mexico  just  the  same  as  pure  English  is  the  language 
of  the  United  States.  Just  as  the  uneducated  speak  bad 
English,  just  so  the  uneducated  Mexican  speaks  bad 
Spanish.  Anyone  learning  Spanish  correctly  will  scarce 
perceive  the  difference  when  talking  to  a  native  Spaniard, 
a  Mexican  or  a  Californian. 

Senor  Trejo  soon  became  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
the  gospel  and  was  baptized  by  Brother  Brizzee.  After 
qualifying  himself  somewhat,  he  commenced  on  the  Book 
of  Mormon  at  our  earnest  solicitation.  My  house  being 
completed,  I  moved  my  family  to  Fairview,  Sanpete 
county.  Brother  Trejo  expressed  a  desire  to  be  with  me. 
He  said  I  understood  the  written  language  somewhat 
better  than  Brother  Brizzee.  Brother  Brizzee  had  asso- 
ciated more  with  the  people  than  I  had  and  talked  quite 
fluently  and  understood  Spanish  very  well,  but  had  not 
studied  the  written  word  so  much  as  I  had.  It  was  ar- 
ranged with  good  feelings  all  around  seemingly,  that  as 
soon  as  I  was  settled  at  home  that  Trejo  would  live  with 
me  and  we  would  work  together  translating.  When 
Brother  Trejo  came,  I  rented  an  office  for  him  where  he 
would  be  undisturbed  through  the  day.  In  the  evenings 
we  would  read  and  correct  together. 

In   the   spring   Brother  T.    returned  to  the  city.     I 
began  to  feel  like  reporting  to   President  Young,  for  we 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  223 

had  everything  ready,  as  It  seemed  to  me,  to  do  some- 
thing. With  this  before  me  I  came  down  to  Salt  Lake 
City,  met  Brother  Brizzee  and  told  him  how  I  felt.  His 
answer  was  that  he  was  sick  of  the  whole  business;  that 
he  had  been  up  to  the  office  to  see  Prest.  Young  and 
could  not  get  a  hearing. 

At  this  time  Prest.  Young  was  much  harassed  by 
lawsuits  of  various  kinds.  I  felt  disappointed  at  the 
answer  and  asked  Brother  Brizzee  if  we  had  not  better 
keep  on  and  do  all  we  could,  and  probably  Brother 
Brigham  would  know  when  we  were  ready,  but  I  got  no 
promise  from  him.  I  told  him  I  intended  to  keep  to 
work  as  long  as  I  saw  anything  to  do ;  and  when 
I  felt  fully  ready  I  would  report.  I  concluded  to  remain 
in  the  city  for  a  while  so  as  to  be  near  Trejo  to  encour- 
age and  help  him.  He  had  commenced  to  carefully  re- 
write the  whole  manuscript  of  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
having  translated  it  entirely.  He  had  improved  so  that 
by  this  time  his  understanding  of  English  was  pretty 
good.  He  seemed  thoroughly  interested  in  the  work. 
He  had  now  expended  what  money  he  had  brought  to 
the  country  with  him.  I  shared  what  money  I  earned 
with  him  and  kept  him  going  the  best  I  could  until  some 
time  in  June,  1875,  when  he  came  to  me  and  said  he 
would  have  to  quit  as  he  could  not  live  longer  without 
an  income  of  some  kind,  and  he  did  not  want  to  accept 
of  me  as  he  knew  I  was  not  able  to  spare  him  means  to 
live  on.  This  confirmed  me  in  the  thought  that  the  time 
had  come  to  report  to  Brother  Brigham,  so  I  told 
Brother  Piatt,  the  man  I  was  working  for,  that  I  was  now 
going  to  see  Prest.  Young  or  camp  with  him  till  I  did  see 
him  and  report. 

I  went  up  town  and  saw  Brother  Brigham  going 
into  the  "Old  Constitution"  building,  followed  and  spoke 


224  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

to  him.     He  asked,  **What  are  you  doing?" 

*'I  am  hunting  you,"  I  replied. 

''Well,  what  do  you  want?" 

''I  want  to  report  to  you.  You  told  me  to  come 
when  I  was  ready,  I  am  now  ready." 

"All  right,  go  up  to  the  office,  I  will  be  there  right 
away." 

When  Brother  Brigham  came  in  he  asked  what  I 
had  done.  I  told  him  just  about  what  had  been  done, 
and  explained  Trejo's  situation.  Brother  Young  had 
never  heard  a  word  about  his  labors;  asked  if  I  could 
vouch  for  him.  I  told  him  I  could  vouch  for  the  work  he 
was  doing,  that  it  was  good  and  getting  to  be  correct. 
Brother  Young  was  somewhat  surprised  and  very  much 
pleased.  He  asked  me  what  Henry  Brizzee  was  doing. 
I  replied  that  I  had  made  my  own  report  and  preferred 
that  Brother  Brizzee  would  do  the  same.  Brother 
Young  said  he  intended  to  release  Brother  Brizzee  from 
the  call  for  reasons  that  were  sufficient,  and  said  that  he 
would  have  him  notified  accordingly. 

Brother  Brigham  advised  me  to  have  printed  about 
I  GO  pages  of  selections  from  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and 
get  them  ready  to  take  to  Mexico,  and  be  ready  to  start 
about  the  ist  of  September,  remarking  that  the  Church 
funds  were  low  at  the  time. 

I  told  him  I  could  soon  raise  the  money  on  subscrip- 
tion if  so  authorized.  Accordingly  I  received  the  follow- 
ing letter : 

"Salt  Lake  City,  June  ist,  1875, 

"  To  whom  it  may  Concern: 

"  Elder  Daniel  W.  Jones,  the  bearer  of  these  lines, 
is  hereby  authorized  to  solicit  and  receive  subscriptions 
to  be  applied  toward  the  support  of  Brother  Gonzales 
while  he  is   translating  the   Book  of  Mormon  into  the 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


225 


Spanish  language,  and  such  other  Church  pubHcations  as 
it  may  he  found  advisable  from  time  to  time  to  translate 
into  that  language.  As  Brother  Gonzales's  labors,  as 
above  mentioned,  promise  to  be  productive  of  much 
good,  it  is  hoped  that  the  Saints,  so  far  as  able  and  will- 
ing, will  aid  toward  his  comfortable  sustenance  while 
translating,  and  also  to  defray  the  cost  of  publishing  his 
translations  that  are  desired  to  be  done  by  November 
next. 

"Brigham  Young." 

President  Young  handed  me  a  blank  book,  saying, 
"Take  this,  get  what  subscriptions  you  can,  and  what  is 
lacking  I  will  furnish."  He  dictated  the  following  head- 
ing : 

''We  the  undersigned  agree  to  pay  the  amount  subscribed  oppo- 
^^  site  our  names  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  of 
^^translating  and  publishing  the   Book  of  Mormon   and  other   Church 
^Bworks  into  the  Spanish  language. 
^B**  Salt  Lake  City,  June  ist  1875. 
B  (Signed.) 

^BEdward  Hunter,  Laron  Pratt, 

^T.u„  cu —  Jos.  Bull  Jr., 


Edward  Hunter, 
John  Sharp, 
Z.  Snow, 
Feramorz  Little, 
J.  T.  Little, 
G.  W.  Crocheron, 
Geo.  C.  Riser, 
Wilba  Hayes, 
D.  Day, 

W.  C.  Rydalch, 
T.  Taylor, 
J.  C.  Cutler, 
George  Goddard, 
Erastus  Snow, 
George  Dunford, 
A.  C.  Pyper, 
Andrew  Burt, 
R.  Campbell, 
14 


John  Priestley, 
James  Anderson, 
A.  McMaster, 
R.  Mathews, 
W.  J.  Lewis, 
H.  W.  Attley, 
Benjamin  Judson, 
Geo.  Margetts, 
O.  S.  Thomson, 
John  B.  Kelly, 
W.  H.  Perkes, 
Jno.  Kirkman, 
Charles  LivingstoUj 
John  Y.  Smith, 
Jas.  Livingston, 
Lorenzo  Pettit, 


Jeter  Clinton, 
W.  Grimsdell, 
P.  A.  Schettler, 
J.  H.  Picknell, 
Jacob  Weiler, 
Thos.  Maycock, 
T.  F.  H.  Morton, 
Jas.  Eardley, 
J.  P.  Ball, 
E.  M.  Weiler, 
A.  C.  Smith, 
Angus  M.  Cannon 
Martin  Lenzi, 
Geo.  Crismon, 
D.  Miner, 
Hyrum  Barton, 
N.  J.  Gronlund, 
Robt.  Dixon, 


226 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


J.  M.  Pyper, 
J.  R.  Winder, 
J.  B.  Maiben, 
Millen  Atwood, 
Francis   Piatt, 
F.  B.  Piatt, 
F.  A.  Shreeve, 

B.  Y.  Hampton, 
William  Goforth, 
William  Hyde, 
Alex.  Burt, 

W.  Woodruff, 
A.  Woodruff, 
Wm.  G.  Phillips, 
T.  O.  Angell, 
United  Order  Tailors, 

D.  W.  Evans, 
John  Nicholson, 
Joseph  Bull, 

J.  Jaques, 
T.  C.  Taylor, 
T.  Mclntyre, 

C.  Denney, 
J.  Tingey, 
S.  Roberts, 

W.  H.  Ogelsby, 
Emma  S.  Kelly, 
George  Buckle, 
N.  H.  Rock  wood. 
Wm.  Nevee, 
J.  B.  Hawkins, 
Mrs.  M.  A.  Leaver, 

E.  D.  Mousley, 
R.  B.  Sampson, 
Thos.  Roberts, 
Robert  Aveson, 


Lucy  Pettit, 
Rosana  Pettit, 
J.  C.   Kingsbury, 
A.  M.  Musser, 
A.  H.  Raleigh, 
James  Leach, 
Robt.  C.   Fryer, 
Wm.  F.  Gaboon, 
Jos.  E.  Taylor, 
E.  M.   Gaboon, 
S.  A.  Woolley, 
J.  M.  Benedict, 
John  L.   Blythe, 
R.  J.  Golding, 
Geo.  W.  Price, 
N.  V.  Jones, 
J.  Morgan, 
T.  McKean, 
T.  G.  Webber, 
Jas.  Sanders, 
Orson  Hyde, 
H.  S.  Eldredge, 
W.  H.  Hooper, 
W.  G.  Neal, 
John  S.  Davis, 
Geo.  Q.  Gannon, 
G.  R.  Savage, 
Geo.  Lambert, 
Morris  &  Evans, 
Geo.  Teasdale, 
Thos.  Jenkins, 
G.  F.  Brooks, 
G.  H.  Taylor, 
T.  Latimer, 
S.  P.  Teasdel, 


J.  M.  Bernhisel, 

Ann  Peart, 

E.  F.  Sheets, 

J.  C.  Rumell, 

Jas.  McKnight, 

John  Needham, 

G.  Grow, 

G.  J.  Lambert, 

J.  McGhie, 

Mathias  Gowley, 

Mary  Bingham, 

Emma  S.'Kelley, 

Ludwig  Suhrke, 

Ghas  Shumway, 

Ghristian  Hendrickson, 

Johan  Vink, 

Jas.  Whitehead, 

Paul  A.  Elkins, 

Geo.  Gurtis, 

J.  D.  Gummings, 

17th  Ward  per  Bishop 

Davis, 
1 6th  Wd.  per  G.  Riser, 
15  th  Ward    per  T.   G. 

Griggs, 
ist   Ward    per   Bishop 

Warburton, 
loth  Ward   per  Bishop 

Proctor, 
nth  Ward   per  Bishop 

McRae, 
Hyde  Park  per  S.  M. 

Molen, 
Moroni,    Sanpete    Go., 

per  Bishop  Bradley, 


NAMES    OF    BOUNTIFUL    WARD,    DAVIS    CO 

Anson  Gall,  Geo.  O.  Noble, 

Joseph  Noble,  Alfred  Burmingham, 

David  Lewis,  Stephen  Ellis, 


Thomas  Waddoups, 
Samanthe  Willey, 
Elizabeth  Barlow, 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


227 


John  Telford, 

Daniel  Carter, 

John  Easthope, 

John  K.  Crosby, 

James  Wright, 

Richard  Duerden, 

Peter  Moore, 

Wm.  Henrie, 

Samuel  Smedley, 

Wm.  Lewis, 

F.  T.  Whitney, 

Wm.  Atchinson, 

P.  G.  Sessions, 

Benjamin  Ashby, 

Joseph  Wilkins, 

Henry  Rampton, 

Mary  Ann  McNeil, 

Arthur  Burmingham, 

James  Wall, 

Patty  Sessions. 

Israel  Barlow, 

J.  Kynaston, 

Cordelia  M.  Barlow, 

Sarah  Nicholas, 

John  Moss, 

Jas.  Kipper, 

Sarah  Easthope, 

Daniel  Wood, 

Benjamin  Peel, 

Lucy  H.  Barlow, 

J.  N.  Perkins, 

William  Knighton, 

Heber  Wood, 

Enoch  Lewis, 

Eric  Hogen, 

Thomas  Briggs, 

J.  T.  Botrell, 

Joseph  Moss, 

Daniel  Davis. 

J.  H.  Barlow, 

Wm.  Salter, 

Kamas  Ward 

per   Bishop   S.    F.    Atwood,    8th  Ward  per  J.  M, 

McAlister,  Payson 

Ward   per  J.  M.  Coombs 

i,  Provo  City  per  P.  M, 

Wentz,  Nephi  City  per  Bishop  Grover, 

SMITHFIELD,  CACHE    CO  ,  (PER   J.    S.    CANTWELL,)  WITH    FOLLOWING 
LIST    OF     NAMES. 


George  Barker, 
Edward  Wildman, 
Silvester  Lowe, 
Catharine  M.  Sorenson 
Harriet  Meikle, 
Alice  Doane, 
Niles  C.  Christianson, 
Christiana  Ainscough, 
Joseph  Hartan, 
John  Plouman, 
Wm.  A  Noble, 
Stephen  Christianson, 
Jens  C.  Peterson, 
Jane  Coleman, 
Sarah  Langton, 
Robt.  Thornly, 
Jane  Harton, 
Niels  Tooleson, 
Jane  Miles, 
Jane  M.  Miles, 


Mary  Swenson, 
Samuel  Roskelly, 
John  F.  Mack, 
,  Thomas  F.  Mather, 
Lars  Tooleson, 
James  Mather, 
Frank  Lutz, 
Lars  Sorenson, 
Elizabeth  Knox, 
Lars  Swenson, 
Hanna  Toolson, 
Peter  Nielson, 
Carl  Johnson, 
Diana  Hendrickson, 
Frdk.  B.  Thybergh, 
Thomas  Smith, 
Lars  Mouritzan, 
Ola  Hanson, 
Benj.  Lloyd, 
Caroline  Christianson, 


Preston  T.  Morehead, 
Euphemia  Bain, 
Adeline  Barber, 
Louisa  Barber, 
James  Mack, 
Wm.  G.  Noble, 
David  Weeks, 
Robert  Meikle, 
Saml.  Hendrickson, 
Betsey  Collett, 
Niels  Gylenskogy, 
Wm.   Thornton, 
Mary  Roberts, 
Mary  Moritzon, 
Hannah  Olsen, 
Ann  Mary  Weeks, 
Mary  Ann  Noble, 
Laura  W.  Merrill, 
Penella  Gylenskogy, 
Elizabeth  Heap, 


228 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


Charles  Jones, 
Elizabeth  Roberts, 


Lena  Nielson, 
Hans  Peterson, 
Mary  Hopkins, 
Mary  Ann  Mather, 

Besides    obtaining    donations    in    Smithfield    Brother    Cantwell 
solicited  help  from  several  other  settlements. 

Richmond  Ward,   Cache    Valley,  per  Bishop  Merrill. 


Matilda  Kelsey, 
Andrew  Tooleson, 
Niels  Nielson, 
Jens  Christianson, 


Jens  Hansen, 
Klaus  Klausen 
Olof  Hansen, 
Geo.  Baugh, 
H.  R.  Cranney, 
J.  H.  Martineau, 
C.  J.  Larsen, 
H.  Thatcher, 
Chas.  Laudberg, 

E.  Curtis, 
W.  B.  Preston, 
John  Anderson, 
T.  Lockyer, 
Rasmus  Nelson, 
Thos.  Morrell, 
R.  Gates, 

F.  Hurst, 

R.  D.  Roberts, 
T.  B.  Cardon, 
Josiah  Hendricks, 
Hans  Anderson, 
H.  Nelson, 
Chas.  Martensen, 
John  Jacobs, 
Osro  Crockett, 
B.  Ravsten, 


Magnus  Bj  earn  son, 
Jeff  Demick, 
Elizabeth  Boyack, 


LOGAN    CITY,    (PER   J.   H.   MARTINEAU.) 

M.  H.  Martineau, 
P.  Crone, 
Geo.  Hymers, 
John  Ormond, 
J.  Sandberg, 
W.  Partington, 
H.  R.  Hansen, 
John  C.  Larsen, 
Jas.  Merrill, 
Thos.  Fredricksen, 


Lars  Hansen, 
L.  R.  Martineau, 
H.   Flamm, 
Alex  Allen, 
J.  Hayball, 
Geo.  Merrisson, 
H.  Ballard, 
R.  Maria  Nelson, 
Anna  Larsen, 
W.  J.  Davis, 
John  Thomas, 
Robt.  Davidson, 
J.  P.  Tuevesen, 
J.  Knowles, 
Joel  Ricks,  Jr., 
J.  Quinney, 

SPANISH    FORK. 

Niels  P.  Madsen, 
Mrs.  Isaacson, 
Marijah  Mayor, 


Wm.  Trapp, 
C.  D.  Fjelsted, 
H.  D.  Hansen, 
Ann  Davis, 
C.  C.  Jensen, 
Bodil  Hansen, 
Ann  Hobbs, 
Frank  Larsen, 
David  Rees, 
Gustave  Tommason, 
Pleasant  Grove  per  Bp. 

J.  Brown, 
Hyrum  Winters, 
Wm.  H.  Green, 
J.  B.  Clark, 

C.  C.  Petersen, 

A.  Warnick, 

D.  Thorn, 

B.  Harper, 
D.  Adamson, 
M.  P.  Peterson, 
Wm.  Marrott, 
Thos.  Winder, 
Olive  Thornton, 
John  P.  Hayes. 


C.  Jacobson, 
Paul  Jensen, 
Hans  Regtrul, 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


229 


Christena  Ghrame, 
A.  P.  Nielson, 
C.  Christiansen, 
Sarah  Brockbank, 


August  Swensen, 
Anna  P.  Jensen, 
Jens  Nielsen, 
Hans  Olsen, 


Mrs.  George  Sinnett, 
Isabella  Rockhill, 
John  Moone. 


Jas.  G.  Higgenson,        Peter  Nielson, 


William  Thomas, 
J.  Houldsworth, 
Wm.  Goats, 
S.  Empey, 
E.  H.  Davis, 
George  Kirkham, 
Isaac  Chilton, 

Ball, 

P.  Christophisen, 
J.  W.  Morton, 
Wm.  Clark, 
Mons  Anderson, 
Thos.  R.  Jones, 
Abel  Mathews, 
D.  Thurmond, 
John  Johnson, 
Wm.  H.  Winn, 
John  Zimmerman, 
Elizabeth  Bushman, 
Wm.  L.  Hutching, 
Edwin  Standing, 


LEHI     CITY. 

J.  W.  Taylor, 
Mrs.  Knudson, 
.John  Austin, 
Sarah  A.  Davis, 
Ellen  Rolf, 
Chas.  Barnes, 
G.  Gudmundsen, 
John  Andreason, 
Elisha  Peck, 
Oley  Ellingson, 
John  Bushman, 
Jens  Holm, 
Philip  Olmstead, 
Jane  Garner, 
N.  P.  Thomas, 
F.  Ericesen, 
A.  F.  Petersen, 
Peter  Petersen, 

Hawkins, 

John  Beck, 
T.  R.  Cutler, 


J.  Goodwin, 
Andrew  A.  Peterson, 
.  James  L.  Robinson, 
Ephriam  City  per  Bp. 

Peterson, 
Springville    Relief   So- 
ciety, 
Parowan  per  Jesse    N. 

Smith, 
Brigham  City    per   A. 

Nichols, 
James  McGhie, 
C.  J.  Lambert, 
Centerville    Ward    per 

Wm.  Reeves, 
H.  S.  Ensign, 
Manti  City   per  J.    C. 

Brown    and    Charles 

Smith. 


The  names  given  are  all  that  I  can  furnish  from  the 
list  as  taken  at  the  time  and  preserved  in  the  same  book 
given  me  by  President  Young.  A  few  names  are  not 
plain,  so  I  have  to  omit  them.  The  donations  ranged 
from  ten  cents  to  ten  dollars.  When  the  wards  are 
credited,  no  list  of  names  were  sent. 

The  people  were  so  ready  and  prompt  that  it  took 
but  a  short  time  to  collect  the  amount  needed.  In  all 
my  travels  I  have  kept  this  list,  as  the  people  helping, 
seemed  to  me  like  particular  friends. 


230  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

I  was  not  long  in  raising  the  amount  needed,  some 
$500.00,  and  contracted  with  the  Deseret  News  office  to 
publish  one  hundred  pages.  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  make  the  selection.  I  called  for  them  when  I  was 
about  ready  for  work  but  nothing  had  been  done.  On 
mentioning  this  to  Brother  Brigham,  he  picked  up  a  Book 
of  Mormon,  saying:  "Take  this,  go  home  and  get  a  few 
days'  rest.  Read  the  book  and  when  you  feel  impressed 
to  do  so,  mark  the '  places  and  they  'will  be  the  proper 
selections,  for  you  have  the  spirit  of  this  mission  and  you 
will  be  directed  aright." 

On  arriving  at  home  in  Sanpete  County,  I  com- 
menced reading  and  studying,  expecting  to  have  but  a 
few  days  at  home,  then  to  soon  leave  on  a  very  hard 
mission.  My  wife  and  family  were  kind  and  loving  and 
I  enjoyed  home  as  much  as  any  one  could.  A  few  days 
after  my  arrival  Bishop  Tucker,  of  Fairview,  and  others 
wished  me  to  go  with  them  to  explore  Castle  valley.  On 
this  trip  I  read  and  made  most  of  the  selections,  after- 
ward approved  of  and  printed. 

The  first  indications  of  the  Pleasant  valley  coal  mines 
were  discovered  on  this  trip  by  Lycurgus  Wilson.  Also 
the  country  known  as  Emery  County  was  prospected  for 
settling. 

I  once  noticed  a  rail  road  guide  book,  where  General 
Johnston  was  given  credit  of  opening  the  road  down 
Price  Creek  canyon.  This  is  not  correct.  No  road  was 
there  until  the  rail  road  was  worked  through.  Captain 
Seldon  took  a  party  up  Spanish  Fork  through  a  short 
canyon  to  the  east  of  Price  Creek.  According  to  the 
best  information  in  my  possession,  the  credit  is  due  to 
Sam  Gilson  for  first  penetrating  and  passing  through  Price 
canyon. 

After  spending  about  three  weeks  I  returned  to  Salt 


L 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  23 1 

Lake  City.  The  selections  being  approved,  work  on  the 
printing  was  soon  commenced.  There  being  no  one 
competent  to  judge  of  the  translation,  Brother  Brigham 
asked  me  how  we  proposed  to  prove  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  authorities  of  the  Church  that  the  translation  was 
correct.  My  proposition  was  to  take  a  book  in  English 
we,  Trejo  and  I,  were  not  acquainted  with,  let  Trejo 
translate  it  into  Spanish,  then  I  without  ever  seeing  the 
book  would  take  his  translation  and  write  it  into  English 
and  compare  it  with  the  original.  Brother  Brigham  said 
that  was  fair.  He  asked  me  if  I  was  familiar  with 
"Spencer's  Letters."  I  said  I  was  not  as  I  had  never 
read  them.  He  sent  me  to  the  Historian's  office  to  tell 
Brother  G.  A.  Smith  to  let  Trejo  have  a  copy  and  do  as 
I  proposed.  On  furnishing  our  translation  as  agreed 
upon,  Brother  Smith  laughingly  remarked,  "I  like  Brother 
Jones'  style  better  than  Brother  Spencer's.  It  is  the 
same  in  substance,  but  the  language  is  more  easily 
understood." 

Brother  Trejo  was  instructed  to  carefully  re-write 
the  selections  and  get  them  ready  for  the  printers.  We 
were  advised  to  call  upon  Apostle  Taylor  and  ask  him 
to  advise  us  as  he  had  been  in  charge  of  the  publishing 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon  into  the  French  language. 
Brother  Taylor  said  he  did  not  think  we  could  do  the 
work ;  and  he  would  rather  have  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
I  told  him  we  had  been  appointed  by  the  highest  author- 
ity that  there  was  in  the  Church  to  do  the  work  and  we 
believed  we  could  do  it  and  make  as  good  a  translation 
as  any  that  had  been  made.  Two  others  of  the  apostles 
were  present.  Whether  they  remember  this  or  not  is  a 
question  but  I  am  satisfied  that  Brother  Taylor  never 
forgot  my  answer. 

When  the  printing  was  commenced,  Brother  Brig- 


232  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

ham  told  me  that  he  would  hold  me  responsible  for  its 
correctness.  This  weighed  heavily  upon  my  mind.  So 
much  so  that  I  asked  the  Lord  to  in  some  way  manifest 
to  me  when  there  were  mistakes. 

Brother  Joseph  Bull  allowed  us  an  extra  reading  of 
the  proof.  The  printers  did  not  understand  a  word  of 
Spanish  and  could  only  follow  literally  the  copy.  They 
soon,  however,  acquired  an  idea  of  the  spelling  that 
made  it  easier  than  at  first. 

The  manuscript  as  written  by  Brother  Trejo,  was  at 
times  rather  after  the  modern  notion  of  good  style. 
When  I  called  his  attention  to  errors  he  invariably  agreed 
with  me.  He  often  remarked  that  I  was  a  close  critic 
and  understood  Spanish  better  than  he  did.  I  did  not 
like  to  tell  him  how  I  discerned  the  mistakes. 

I  felt  a  sensation  in  the  center  of  my  forehead  as 
though  there  was  a  fine  fiber  being  drawn  smoothly  out. 
When  a  mistake  occurred,  the  smoothness  would  be 
interrupted  as  though  a  small  knot  was  passing  out 
through  the  forehead.  Whether  I  saw  the  mistake  or 
not  I  was  so  sure  it  existed  that  I  would  direct  my 
companion's  attention  to  it  and  call  on  him  to  correct  it. 
When  this  was  done  we  continued  on  until  the  same 
occurred  again. 

President  Young  gave  us  all  the  encouragement  and 
advice  necessary.  Brothers  George  A.  Smith,  G.  Q. 
Cannon  and  Orson  Pratt  also  manifested  much  interest 
in  the  mission,  as  well  as  a  great  many  others,  who  con- 
tributed means  to  pay  for  the  publishing  of  the  book. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  233 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

The  Missionaries  for  Mexico — We  are  to  Explore  the  Country — Our 
Outfit  and  Mode  of  Travel — Our  Stubborn  Mules — Incidents  of 
the  Journey. 

WHILE  the  work  of  printing  was  in  the  press, 
the  brethren  wanted  to  go  on  the  mission  were 
selected.  It  was  agreed  instead  of  going  by  rail  road 
and  ocean  to  Mexico,  that  we  would  fit  up  with  pack  and 
saddle  animals  and  go  through  and  explore  Arizona  on 
our  trip.  At  this  time  there  was  but  little  known  by  our 
people  of  Arizona.  Even  Salt  River  valley  was  not 
known  by  the  head  men.  Hardy,  able-bodied  men  of 
faith  and  energy  were  wanted  for  the  trip.  Besides 
myself  there  were  selected,  J.  Z.  Stewart,  Helaman 
Pratt,  Wiley  C.  Jones  (my  son,)  R.  H.  Smith,  Ammon  M. 
Tenney  and  A.  W.  Ivins. 

The  book  of  one  hundred  pages  was  now  ready, 
being  bound  in  paper. 

About  the  ist  of  September,  1875,  we  appointed  to 
meet  at  Nephi  and  start  from  there  with  pack  animals. 
Two  of  the  company,  being  in  the  extreme  south,  were 
to  join  us  at  Kanab.  We  left  Nephi  about  the  loth  of 
September,  and  with  our  books,  some  two  thousand 
packed  on  mules,  we  started  out.  We  had  a  good  out- 
fit for  the  trip.  The  people  of  the  settlements,  as  we 
passed  along,  assisted  us  in  every  way.  Some  additions 
were  made  to  our  outfit.  One  place.  Cedar  City,  gave 
so  much  dried  fruit  that  it  became  necessary  for  us  to 
have  another  pack  mule,  which  was  readily  furnished. 
We  stopped  a  short  time  at  Toquerville,  where  Brother 
Ivins  joined  us.     From  here  we  went  to   Kanab  where 


234  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

our    company    was     completed     by     Brother    Tenney 
joining. 

The  route  chosen  was  by  the  way  of  Lee's  Ferry, 
thence  to  the  Moquis  villages,  Brother  Tenney  having 
been  to  these  villages  some  years  before,  was  to  be 
our  guide  to  that  point,  after  which  we  were  to  make 
our  way  through  an  unknown  country  the  best  we  could. 
Our  instructions  were  to  explore   the  Little  Colorado. 

Some  few  years  previous  to  this  a  large  company 
had  been  called  to  go  and  settle  Arizona.  They  had 
penetrated  beyond  the  Colorado  some  forty-five  miles, 
but  finding  no  water  had  all  returned  except  one  small 
company  under  Brother  John  Blythe,  the  names  of  which 
as  far  as  obtained  are,  David  V.  Bennett,  William  Solo- 
mon, Ira  Hatch,  James  Mangrum,  Thomas  Smith  and 
son.  These  remained  doing  all  they  could  to  carry  out 
the  design  of  the  mission,  until  circumstances  caused 
their  honorable  release.  Their  history  and  experience 
there  would  make  quite  a  chapter,  but  I  cannot  claim  the 
right  or  memory  to  record  it. 

One  little  incident  I  will  relate,  to  show  how  I  came 
to  be  called  to  explore  Arizona  in  connection  with  this 
mission  to  Mexico,  which  could  have  been  made  in  an 
easier  way  than  traveling  so  far  with  pack  mules.  I  was 
in  President  Young's  office  one  day  when  several  others 
were  present.  Brother  W.  C.  Staines  came  in  and  was 
telling  about  having  heard  a  Brother  McMaster,  of  the 
1 1  th  Ward,  related  a  remarkable  occurrence  whilst  on 
this  first  Arizona  trip.  Brother  McMaster's  statement, 
as  told  by  Brother  Staines,  was  that  there  were  several 
hundred  persons,  with  teams,  in  a  perishing  condition. 
They  had  passed  some  forty-five  miles  beyond  the 
Colorado  and  no  water  could  be  found.  Some  one  had 
gone  on  up  the  Litde   Colorado  and  found  that  entirely 


I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  235 


dry.  Brother  McMaster  being  chaplain  went  out  and 
pled  with  the  Lord  for  water.  Soon  there  was  a  fall  of 
rain  and  snow  depositing  plenty  of  water  for  the  cattle, 
and  to  fill  up  all  their  barrels.  They  were  camped  in  a 
rocky  place  where  there  were  many  small  holes  that  soon 
filled  up.  In  the  morning  all  were  refreshed,  barrels 
filled  up,  and  all  turned  back  rejoicing  in  the  goodness 
of  the  Lord  in  saving  them  from  perishing.  They 
returned  to  Salt  Lake  and  reported  Arizona  unin- 
habitable. 

After  Brother  Staines  had  finished,  some  remarks 
were  made  by  different  ones.  I  was  sitting  near  by  and 
just  in  front  of  Brother  Brigham.  I  had  just  been  telling 
him  something  about  my  labors  among  the  Indians.  He 
said  nothing  for  a  few  moments,  but  sat  looking  me 
straight  in  the  eye.  Finally  he  asked,  "What  do  you 
think  of  that  Brother  Jones  ?" 

I  answered,  'T  would  have  filled  up,  went  on,  and 
prayed  again."  Brother  Brigham  replied  putting  his 
hand  upon  me,  "This  is  the  man  that  shall  take  charge 
of  the  next  trip  to  Arizona." 

Not  long  after  crossing  the  Colorado  we  were  over- 
taken by  an  Indian  bringing  us  a  telegram  from  President 
Young,  sent  to  Kanab,  directing  us  to  visit  Salt  River 
valley  as  he  had  been  informed  something  about  it  since 
our  departure.  This  changed  our  intended  direction 
somewhat  as  we  were  intending  to  make  toward  the  Rio 
Grande,  a  country  that  I  was  acquainted  with. 

On  arriving  at  the  Moquis  villages,  the  Indians  were 
much  pleased  to  see  us,  and  were  very  friendly.  Their 
country  and  villages  have  been  described  so  well  and 
often  that  I  will  say  but  little  about  them.  They  are  a 
peaceable,  honest  class,  dwelling  in  villages  that  have  a 
very  ancient  appearance  situated  on  high  bluffs,  facing  a 


236  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

dry,  sandy  plain  and  distant  some  sixty  miles  from  the 
Little  Colorado  river.  The  Indians  farm  by  catching  the 
rain  water  which  runs  down  from  the  hills,  and  conduct  it 
upon- the  more  sandy  spots;  thus  gathering  moisiure 
enough  to  mature  beans,  pumpkins,  early  corn,  melons 
and  a  few  other  early  vegetables.  They  have  a  number 
of  peach  trees  that  grow  in  the  sand  ridges,  bearing  a 
very  good  fruit  of  which  they  dry  the  most.  They  save 
and  eat  every  thing  they  possibly  can.  They  own  quite 
a  number  of  horses,  sheep  and  goats.  They  seem  to  be 
happy,  well  fed  and  contented,  making  some  blankets 
and  clothing  of  a  rude  kind. 

As  there  may  be  readers  of  this  work  more  inter- 
ested in  the  travels  and  the  country  through  which  we 
passed  than  the  mission  in  which  we  were  engaged,  for 
their  benefit  I  will  describe  our  outfit  and  mode  of  travel. 
On  leaving  Kanab  there  were  seven  of  us  with  saddle 
animals.  Brother  Pratt  rode  a  contrary  mule.  We  had 
some  fourteen  head  of  pack  animals.  Our  books  were 
in  convenient  bales  for  packing.  All  our  provisions, 
which  were  ample,  were  put  up  in  uniform-sized  canvas 
bags.  There  was  one  mule  for  water  kegs  and  one 
horse  for  kitchen  traps.  The  latter  was  well  suited  for 
his  position,  for  nothing  would  excite  him.  We  had  to 
depend  entirely  on  the  grass  to  sustain  our  animals,  as 
we  could  not  carry  grain  for  them.  In  the  early  travels 
of  western  explorers  grass  was  the  only  feed.  It  was 
much  more  fresh  and  abundant  than  at  the  present  time. 
Now  throughout  the  western  country  almost  every 
watering  place  is  occupied  by  the  ranchman's  cattle. 

At  night  our  animals  were  hoppled  and  turned  out. 
When  any  danger  was  expected  we  would  guard  them. 
If  there  was  no  danger  we  went  to  bed  and  hunted  them 
up  in  the  morning.     Sometimes  this  was  quite  a  labor. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  237 

We  had  one  span  of  mules  that  seemed  determined  to 
get  back  to  Utah.  We  tried  many  times  to  hamper 
them,  sometimes  with  seeming  success,  but  they  soon 
learned  to  travel  side  or  cross-hoppled,  or  one  tied  to  the 
other. 

Most  of  us  were  old  travelers,  that  is,  we  had  all 
had  considerable  experience  in  handling  animals  in  camp, 
but  these  mules  showed  more  cunning  and  perseverance 
than  any  we  had  seen  before.  Once  they  traveled  with 
hopples  some  sixteen  miles.  I  happened  to  strike  their 
trail  first.  After  tracking  them  about  five  miles  I  found 
Ammon  Tenney's  saddle  horse  with  a  few  other  animals. 
I  managed  to  catch  the  horse,  and  with  nothing  but  my 
suspenders  for  a  bridle  I  followed  on  alone  until  I  over- 
took the  mules.  They  tried  to  run  away  from  me,  but  I 
managed  to  head  them  back  and  drove  thern  several 
miies  before  daring  to  take  the  hopples  off.  The 
horse  I  was  riding  was  quite  sharp  backed.  By  this  time, 
not  like  the  king  who  cried  "My  kingdom  for  a  horse,"  I 
thought,  "My  kingdom  for  a  saddle."  So  I  commenced 
to  study  how  to  make  one,  and  succeeded  finely.  I  took 
off  my  overalls,  pulled  some  hair  out  of  the  horse's  tail 
and  tied  the  bottom  of  the  legs  together,  then  pulled  the 
grass  and  stuffed  the  overalls  full — both  legs  and  body. 
This  formed  a  pad  fast  at  both  ends  but  separate  in  the 
middle.  This  I  placed  lengthwise  on  the  back  of  the  horse 
with  body  end  forward  so  that  I  could  hold  the  waistband 
end  together  with  one  hand  to  keep  the  grass  from  work- 
ing out.  Under  the  circumstances  this  made  me  quite 
comfortable,  and  I  drove  the  mules  back  to  camp  all 
right.  My  companions  laughed  heartily  as  I  rode  in,  but 
acknowledged  that  I  was  a  good  saddler. 

A  few  nights  after  we  were  discussing  these  mules, 
Brother  Tenney  proposed  that  we  tie  each  mule  to  the 


238  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Other's  tail.  This  worked  Hke  a  charm.  We  had  no 
further  trouble,  as  they  simply  followed  each  other  round 
and  round  and  got  their  fill  of  travel  without  going  very 
far  from  camp. 

There  was  some  uneasiness  felt  by  Brothers  Tenney 
and  Ivins  about  meeting  the  Indians  who  had  killed  Dr. 
Whitmore,  as  they  had  never  come  in  to  make  peace 
with  the  Mormon  settlements.  As  we  neared  the  Moa- 
abby  we  were  all  somewhat  anxious  and  kept  a  good 
look-out.  Brother  Tenney  knew  these  Indians  well  and 
said  he  would  be  able  to  recognize  them  from  any  others. 
The  Navajoes  who  had  formerly  been  hostile  were  now 
at  peace  and  coming  in  to  trade  for  horses;  but  the 
Indians  dreaded  were  still  supposed  to  be  on  the  war  path. 

On  arriving  at  the  Moa-abby  we  camped  near  the 
edge  of  some  willows,  keeping  a  good  watch.  We  made 
an  early  camp  shortly  before  sundown.  Brother  Tenney, 
who  was  on  the  alert,  suddenly  said,  "Here  they  are. 
We  are  in  for  it." 

At  this  time  about  twenty  Indians  on  horseback 
showed  themselves  some  two  hundred  yards  from  us. 
They  came  somewhat  slily  out  of  the  willows.  Brother 
Tenney  recognized  them  at  once  as  the  hostiles.  I  told 
him  to  make  friendly  signs  and  tell  them  to  approach,  as 
he  talked  their  language  well.  I  told  the  rest  to  be  ready 
but  to  make  no  moves.  Brother  Tenney  and  I  stepped 
unarmed  out  from  the  willows  and  walked  a  little  way  in 
the  direction  of  the  Indians.  They  approached  us  slowly. 
Brother  Tenney  told  them  to  come  on  as  we  were  friends. 
We  stood  waiting  for  them  to  approach  us.  When  they 
came  up  we  shook  hands  and  I  was  introduced  as  a  Mor- 
mon captain  who  was  a  great  friend  to  the  Indians ;  one 
who  never  wanted  to  fight  them  and  had  a  good  heart 
for  the  Indian   race.     Really  I  felt   no  fear,  for  we  were 


b 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  239 

sent  out  as  messengers  of  peace  to  this  very  people. 
Still  I  believed  in  being  prudent  and  not  giving  them  a 
chance  to  get  the  advantage  of  us,  for  this  band  of  Indians 
were  noted  for  their  treachery  even  by  the  other  Indian 
tribes. 

Like  most  Indians,  they  wanted  to  know  if  we  had 
anything  to  eat.  I  told  them  we  had,  and  if  they  would 
do  as  I  wanted  them  to  that  I  would  give  them  a  good 
supper.  They  agreed  to  do  so.  I  showed  them  where 
to  make  their  camp,  some  twenty-five  yards  from  ours,  in 
an  open  spot.  I  told  them  that  my  men  were  not  ac- 
quainted with  them  and  were  a  little  afraid,  and  that  they 
must  not  go  near  them,  but  that  Brother  Tenney  and  I 
knew  them  and  were  not  afraid  of  them.  I  told  two  of 
the  Indians  to  bring  some  wood  to  our  camp,  which  they 
did.  I  also  told  them  to  get  their  wood  and  water  and 
turn  their  horses  out  with  ours,  and  get  everything  ready 
before  night,  so  that  they  would  not  want  to  leave  their 
camp  after  dark,  as  our  men  might  be  scared  if  they 
moved  about  then.  We  had  an  abundance  of  provisions, 
so  we  gave  them  a  good,  hearty  supper. 

Brother  Tenney  and  I  talked  with  them  until  bed- 
time. They  said  they  had  desired  to  make  peace  with 
the  Mormons  but  were  afraid  to  come  in.  I  agreed  to 
give  them  a  paper  next  morning  stating  that  we  had  met 
them  and  that  they  desired  peace.  Our  party  laid  on 
their  arms  all  night  watching  these  Indians.  None  slept. 
They  kept  faith  with  us  and  not  one  of  them  stirred  dur- 
ing the  night.  We  had  breakfast  early  in  the  morning 
and  sent  two  of  the  Indians  to  bring  up  our  animals.  We 
gave  them  some  more  provisions,  wrote  their  recommend 
and  then  started  on,  leaving  the  Indians  cooking  their 
breakfast,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  them.  I  never  heard 
of  them  committing  any  depredations  afterwards. 


240  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

Our  Explorations — Arrival  at  Phoenix — We  push  Forward  on  our 
Journey — Camp  Among  Thieves — A  Meeting  held  with  Indians 
— Its  Good   Results. 

WE  VISITED  a  few  days  with  the  Moquis,  who  re- 
ceived us  very  kindly.  After  taking  into  consider- 
ation our  instructions  to  visit  Salt  River  valley,  we  tried 
to  hire  an  Indian  to  pilot  us  across  the  country  to  the 
Little  Colorado  river,  wishing  to  strike  it  at  the  nearest 
point.  We  were  told  that  there  was  no  water  on  the 
route.  No  one  seemed  to  want  the  job  to  guide  us. 
Finally  an  Indian  was  found  who  said  he  would  go  for  a 
certain  number  of  silver  dollars.  We  agreed  to  give 
him  his  price.  We  packed  up,  filled  our  water  kegs  and 
started  out  in  the  afternoon.  The  guide  was  to  come  on 
in  the  morning  and  overtake  us. 

We  traveled  a  few  miles  and  camped.  Next  morn- 
ing the  guide  came  up,  but  demanded  more  pay. 
Finally  we  consented.  We  had  traveled  but  a  short  dis- 
tance when  he  demanded  another  advance.  This  we  did 
not  feel  inclined  to  make,  so  Brother  Tenney  told  him  we 
could  get  along  without  him.  He  then  turned  back. 
There  was  no  trail.  We  took  a  southerly  direction 
trusting  to  our  own  judgment  to  get  through. 

After  traveling  a  few  hours  we  approached  near 
some  hills  where  the  country  looked  like  there  might  be 
water.  We  turned  off  from  our  direction,  went  up  into 
the  hills  and  found  a  spring  of  good,  fresh  water.  We 
re-filled  our  kegs  and  watered  our  stock.  It  was  some- 
what difficult  as  the  banks  were  steep  and  the  water  was 
a  foot  or  more  below  the  surface. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  24 1 

All  our  Stock  drank  except  a  little  Mexican  burro 
that  would  not  approach  the  spring.  We  all  got  around 
him  and  pushed  him  up  to  the  brink  several  times  but  he 
would  slip  away  from  us.  We  knew  he  was  thirsty,  but, 
donkey-like,  he  would  not  drink.  At  length  we  g^rabbed 
hold  of  him,  lifted  him  clear  from  the  ground  and  put 
him  in  the  middle  of  the  spring,  where  he  stood  quite 
still  but  would  not  drink ;  so  he  beat  us  after  all.  We 
named  the  spring  Tussle  Jack.  I  doubt  if  anyone  has 
been  there  since. 

On  leaving  this  place  we  were  forced  by  the  forma- 
tion of  the  country  to  bear  in  a  westerly  direction.  Soon 
we  struck  dim  trails.  Following  along  we  came  to  some 
water  holes  in  a  ravine  but  passed  on.  The  trails  soon 
giving  out  we  again  turned  south.  At  night  we  made  a 
dry  camp ;  traveled  next  morning  about  two  miles ;  still 
no  trail.  We  found  some  water,  but  it  was  barely  suf- 
ficient to  water  our  animals.  We  continued  traveling  all 
day  without  a  trail.  Towards  night  we  came  to  a  large, 
dry  wash  with  cottonwoods  growing  along  it.  Having 
heard  that  the  Little  Colorado  was  subject  to  drying  up, 
we  thought  this  was  perhaps  the  dry  bed  of  the  river.  If 
so,  we  were  in  a  bad  fix  for  there  was  no  knowing  when 
we  would'  reach  water.  Brother  Ivins  having  a  good 
horse  rode  out  on  a  high  hill  to  look  for  signs  of  the 
river  ahead.  The  sun  was  just  setting.  He  helloed 
back  that  he  could  see  the  river  a  few  miles  further  on. 
This  news  was  received  with  a  shout  of  joy.  We  started 
on,  traveling  with  the  stars  for  guides.  The  coun- 
try became  quite  rough  and  broken,  and  it  was  with 
much  difficulty  that  we  finally  descended  from  the  bluffs 
to  the  river  bottom.  We  had  to  travel  some  time  before 
getting  to  water. 

We  struck  the  bottom  at  a  bend  of  the  river  where 

15 


242  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS 

the  direction  of  the  stream  was  the  same  as  our  direction 
of  travel.  At  length  we  got  to  water  where  grass  and 
wood  were  plentiful.  All  felt  happy,  for  here  we  knew 
by  information  that  we  would  soon  strike  the  main  road 
leading  to  Prescott,  Arizona.  We  had  a  map  of  this 
road  and  country.  We  had  been  traveling  for  some  time 
through  a  strange  country,  but  little  known,  some  of  it, 
even  to  the  natives.  We  now  felt  as  though  we  could 
get  along  with  less  anxiety.  We  remained  a  few  days 
looking  at  the  country  further  up  the  river  so  as  to  be 
able  to  report  to  President  Young,  which  we  did  as  soon 
as  we  found  a  chance  to  mail  our  letters.  We  now  took 
the  wagon  road  leading  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  Prescott, 
followed  a  westerly  direction  and  soon  reached  the  Mo- 
gollon  mountains.  The  first  night  out  from  the  Little 
Colorado  we  camped  at  a  mail  station  which  had  two 
men  in  charge.  They  gave  us  considerable  information 
about  the  country.  Next  day  we  reached  Pine  Station, 
a  place  then  deserted.  Here  we  met  two  men  from 
Phoenix,  Salt  River  valley,  a  Dr.  Wharton  and  a  Mr. 
McNulty.  They  had  come  out  to  meet  their  families, 
who  were  moving  into  Arizona.  The  night  was  cold  and 
stormy.  Next  day  was  the  same,  so  we  laid  over  and 
had  a  good  visit  with  these  gentlemen.  They  were  two 
of  the  most  prominent  men  in  Phoenix.  McNulty  was 
county  clerk  for  several  years.  They  both  still  live  in 
the  country.  They  were  always  kind  and  friendly  to  our 
people  and  never  forgot  our  first  friendly  acquaintance 
in  the  lonely  camp  on  the  wild  mountain  road. 

We  left  our  letter  at  the  first  mail  station.  We  got 
the  direction  from  these  gentleman  as  to  the  shortest  and 
best  road  to  Salt  river,  and  as  there  were  no  natives  to 
visit  or  country  suitable  for  settling  before  reaching 
Phoenix,  we  concluded  to  take  the  shortest  route.  We  were 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  243 

now  traveling  through  a  country  that  was  considered  some- 
what dangerous,  more  from  outlaws  than  Indians.  The 
Apaches  having  been  driven  from  their  former  haunts 
were  now  occupying  the  reservations  at  Bowie,  San  Car- 
los and  Camp  Apache,  where  they  had  recently  been 
located  by  the  management  of  General  Crook.  While 
crossing  the  Mogollon  mountains  the  weather  was  quite 
cold.  As  we  descended  toward  the  lower  valley  the  tem- 
perature changed  very  rapidly,  instead  of  overcoats  we 
soon  hunted  shade  trees. 

We  were  much  surprised  on  entering  Salt  River 
valley.  We  had  traveled  through  deserts  and  mountains 
(with  the  exception  of  the  Little  Colorado  valley,  a  place 
which  we  did  not  particularly  admire)  for  a  long  ways. 
Now  there  opened  before  us  a  sight  truly  lovely.  A 
fertile  looking  soil  and  miles  of  level  plain.  In  the  dis- 
tance the  green  cottonwood  trees ;  and  what  made  the 
country  look  more  real,  was  the  thrifty  little  settlement 
of  Phoenix,  with  its  streets  already  planted  with  shade 
trees,  for  miles.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  at  the  time  we 
started,  in  September,  1875,  the  valley  of  Salt  River 
was  not  known  even  to  Brigham  Young. 

Our  animals  were  beginning  to  fail,  as  they  had  lived 
on  grass  since  leaving  Kanab.  We  bought  corn  at  four 
cents  a  pound  and  commenced  feeding  them  a  little. 
Although  Salt  River  valley  is  naturally  fertile,  owing  to 
the  dryness  of  the  climate,  there  is  no  grass  except  a 
little  coarse  stuff  called  sacaton. 

We  camped  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  On 
making  inquiry,  we  learned  that  Tempe,  or  Hayden's 
Mill,  seven  miles  further  up  the  river,  would  be  a  better 
place  to  stop  for  a  few  days  than  Phoenix.  C.  T. 
Hayden  being  one   of  the  oldest  and  most  enterprising 


244  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

settlers  of  the  country,  had  built  a  grist  mill,  started 
ranches,  opened  a  store,  blacksmith,  wagon  shop,  etc. 

As  we  were  passing  through  Phoenix,  we  met  a  few 
Indians,  Maricopas  and  Pimas.  I  called  one  of  them  to 
me,  and  asked  him  if  he  understood  Mexican.  He  said 
he  did.  I  told  him  who  we  were  and  that  our  mission 
was  to  talk  to  the  natives,  that  we  wished  to  get  the 
Pimas  and  Maricopas  together,  over  on  the  Gila,  and 
talk  to  them.  He  said,  ''All  right,  how  much  will  you 
pay  me  to  go  and  notify  them?" 

I  replied,  "We  will  pay  you  nothing.  We  are  not 
traveling  for  money ;  we  are  here  more  for  the  good  of 
your  people  than  for  our  own.  You  can  go  and  tell 
them  or  not,  just  as  you  please." 

He  said  that  he  understood  who  we  were,  and  would 
go  and  tell  the  Indians  about  us.  On  arriving  at 
Hayden's  place,  we  found  the  owner  an  agreeable, 
intelligent  gentlemen,  who  was  much  interested  in  the 
settlement  and  development  of  the  country,  as  well  as 
friendly  toward  the  Mormons,  he  being  a  pioneer  in 
reality,  having  been  for  many  years  in  the  west,  and 
could  fully  sympathize  with  the  Mormon  people  in 
settling  the  deserts.  He  gave  us  much  true  and  useful 
information  about  the  country  and  natives.  Here  we 
traded  off  some  of  our  pack  mules  and  surplus  pro- 
visions. We  had  already  traded  for  a  light  spring  wagon, 
finding  that  the  country  befor-e  us  could  be  traveled  with 
wagons.  We  remained  here  a  few  days,  camping  at  the 
ranch  of  Mr.  Winchester  Miller.  His  barley  was  up 
several  inches  high,  but  he  allowed  us  to  turn  our 
animals  into  his  fields,  and  treated  us  in  a  kind,  hospit- 
able manner.  The  friendly  acquaintance  made  at  this 
time,  has  always  been  kept  up.  Mr.  Miller  was  an 
energetic  man,  and  manifested  a  great  desire  to  have  the 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  245 

Mormons  come  there  and  settle.  He  had  already- 
noticed  the  place  where  the  Jonesville  ditch  is  now  loca- 
ted. He  told  me  about  it,  saying  it  was  the  best  ditch- 
site  on  the  river.  What  he  said  has  proved  true.  We 
wrote  to  President  Young  describing  the  country. 

After  resting  a  few  days  we  started  for  the  Gila, 
striking  it  at  Morgan's  station.  This  was  near  the  lower 
villages  of  the  Pimas.  The  Indians  had  heard  of  us  and 
wanted  to  hear  us  talk.  We  did  not  say  much  at  this 
place,  but  told  the  Indians  we  would  stop  at  Sacaton,  the 
upper  settlement,  and  have  a  good  long  talk  with  the 
people ;  that  there  we  hoped  to  meet  all  the  leading  men 
of  the  tribe.  Next  day  we  traveled  up  along  the  north 
side  of  the  river  Gila,  passing  a  number  of  the  Pima  vil- 
lages, talking  a  few  words  and  giving  out  our  appoint- 
ment. Most  of  the  way  there  was  no  road,  and  some- 
times it  was  rather  difficult  to  get  along  with  our  carriage. 

We  arrived  that  night  at  Twin  Buttes  or  Hayden's 
trading  station.  Here  quite  a  number  of  Indians  came 
to  see  us,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  talk  with  them.  It  was 
here  I  met  for  the  first  time  an  Indian  named  Francisco 
Chico,  who  spoke  Spanish  quite  well.  This  man  will 
appear  again  in  this  history. 

Next  day  early  we  arrived  at  Sacaton.  There  was 
no  feed,  except  a  little  grass  among  the  thorny  brush  on 
the  river  bottom.  There  was  a  trader  here,  doing  quite 
a  business.  I  went  to  his  store  and  asked  him  if  he  had 
any  hay  or  fodder  for  sale.  He  looked  at  me  in  surprise 
and  said,  ''  Mister,  that  is  something  the  country  don't 
produce." 

"Then  what  are  travelers  to  do  that  wish  to  stop 
over  here  for  a  few  days? "  I  asked. 

"There  are  no  travelers  with  any  sense  that  want  to 
stop  over  here.     You   had   better  pack   up   and  go  on. 


246  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

You  can  get  fodder  up  at  Juan  Largos'  near  Florence, 
but  there  is  none  here." 

I  answered,  "Well  we  want  to  stop,  and  will  have 
to  put  up  with  what  there  is.  I  see  there  is  a  little  grass 
among  the  brush.  We  will  have  to  feed  all  the  more 
grain.     We  can  get  plenty  of  that,  I  suppose." 

"You  had  better  not  stay."  He  said,  "If  you  turn 
your  stock  out  they  will  be  stolen  from  you.  I  have 
lived  here  ten  years ;  am  friendly  with  the  Indians,  but 
they  are  the  biggest  thieves  you  ever  saw.  I  tell  you 
not  to  trust  them.      There  are  some  poor  people  now  in 

camp  down  there,  two  men  and  a  woman.      The  d d 

thieves  have  stolen  their  stock  and  will  not  fetch  it  back 
unless  they  pay  them  five  dollars  a  head,  and  as  they 
have  not  got  the  money  they  are  in  a  bad  fix.  The 
Indians  will  serve  you  the  same  way." 

We  concluded  that  here  was  a  chance  to  commence 
to  work  and  do  some  good.  We  made  camp  in  an 
opening  among  the  brush.  Soon  quite  a  number  of 
Indians  collected  around  camp.  I  told  some  of  them  to 
take  our  animals  and  watch  them  until  night,  then  bring 
them  in  for  their  corn.  We  put  a  bell  on  one  of  the 
animals.  I  told  the  Indians  not  to  take  them  so  far  we 
could  not  hear  the  bell.  We  went  back  to  the  trader's 
for  some  grain.  I  told  him  what  we  had  done.  He  said 
I  was  like  other  "smart  Alecks"  that  had  just  come 
among  the  Indians  ;  but  that  we  would  be  in  the  same 
fix  as  the  party  was  who  had  lost  their  stock.  I  told  him 
we  would  not  lose  one  of  our  animals;  but  that  I  believed 
I  could  induce  the  Indians  to  return  those  they  had  stolen 
from  the  poor  people.  He  said,  "You  must  be  either 
crazy,  or  in  colusion  with  the  Indians." 

I  told  him  we  were  neither.  At  feeding  time  all  the 
animals  were  brought  in.     After  feeding  them  they  were 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  247 

again  turned  over  to  the  Indians.  Next  morning  all 
were  brought  in.  This  being  the  day  appointed  for  the 
meeting,  about  ten  o'clock  the  Indians  commenced 
gathering.  We  found  an  excellent  interpreter  In  Francisco 
Capulla.  He  seemed  quite  intelligent  and  ready  to  com- 
prehend what  we  told  him.  We  talked  quite  a  while 
with  the  Interpreter  before  requesting  the  people  to  listen 
to  us.  Finally  there  gathered  between  three  and  four 
hundred. 

We  were  told  that  all  the  captains  had  arrived  and 
were  ready  to  listen  to  what  we  had  to  say.  I  told  the 
interpreter  to  explain  to  them  what  we  had  been  telling 
him.  He  talked  quite  a  while  in  the  Pima  tongue,  In  an 
earnest,  spirited  manner.  When  he  got  through,  a  few 
remarks  were  made  by  some  of  the  old  men.  The 
interpreter  told  us  they  were  much  interested  in  what 
they  had  heard  and  wished  me  to  talk  more,  and  tell 
them  about  their  forefathers.  Said  they  knew  nothing 
about  them,  but  that  they  always  understood  that  some- 
time there  would  be  those  coming  among  them  who 
knew  all  about  these  things. 

I  now  felt  it  was  my  time  to  get  the  animals  which 
had  been  stolen  from  the  poor  travelers.  These  people 
were  sitting  in  sight,  looking  very  much  disheartened.  I 
pointed  to  them  and  told  the  Indians  it  made  me  feel  sor- 
rowful to  see  those  poor  people  there,  and  that  it  weighed 
on  my  heart  so  that  I  could  not  talk ;  and  that  I  wished 
some  of  the  young  men  would  go  and  hunt  their  stock 
up.  I  never  hinted  that  I  thought  they  had  stolen  them 
away.  After  this  there  was  some  little  side-talk  among 
the  Indians.  The  Interpreter  asked  me  to  go  on  and  talk 
to  the  people.  The  Indians  got  very  much  Interested 
when  I  commenced  to  explain  to  them  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon.     (I  will  here  say  that  In  all  my  labors  among  the 


248  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Indians  I  have  never  known  of  one  failing  to  be  inter- 
ested when  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  introduced.) 
These  Pimas  were  intelHgent  and  capable  of  understand- 
ing all  we  said  to  them.  I  then  again  referred  to  the  dis- 
agreeable subject,  telling  them  that  I  still  felt  grieved. 
One  of  the  chiefs  spoke  up,  asking  me  to  go  on,  as  the 
stock  had  been  found  and  were  being  brought  to  the 
owners.  I  now  felt  free  to  talk  and  gave  them  much 
instruction. 

Brother  Tenney  being  a  good  interpreter,  having 
had  much  experience  among  the  natives  of  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, explained  with  much  clearness  the  gospel  of 
repentance  to  these  people.  A  good  spirit  prevailed  and 
the  Indians  manifested  a  desire  to  be  instructed,  acknowl- 
edged their  degraded  condition,  and  said  they  wished 
the  Mormons  would  come  to  their  country  to  live  and 
teach  them  how  to  do.  We  all  felt  well  paid  for  the 
hardships  we  had  gone  through,  for  we  could  see  here 
was  a  chance  for  a  good  work  to  be  done. 

We  were  in  no  way  annoyed.  Our  animals  were 
watched  and  brought  in  regularly  to  feed.  When  we 
got  ready  to  start  on  everything  was  in  good  shape.  We 
bade  the  Indians  good-bye,  promising  that  the  Mormons 
would  visit  them  again  and  some  of  them  would  probably 
come  and  live  in  their  country. 

The  trader  never  knew  how  to  account  for  our  way 
of  doing  with  the  Pimas.  From  here  we  went  a  day's 
travel  farther  up  the  Gila  to  Juan  Largos'  villages. 

Juan,  a  Papago  Indian,  presided  over  quite  a  settle- 
ment of  his  people.  His  son  was  educated  so  as  to  read. 
We  gave  him  a  copy  of  our  book.  These  extracts  from 
the  Book  of  Mormon  we  had  been  presenting  to  a  few 
of  the  Indians,  and  some  of  the   Mexicans,  on  our  road. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  249 

Many  years   afterwards,  the   Indians   showed   me  these 
books.     They  prize  them  highly. 

At  Juan  Largos' s  the  people  came  together  and  we 
taught  them  the  same  as  we  had  the  Pimas.  Francisco 
Capulla  went  to  this  village  with  us.  He  became  much 
interested  in  our  teachings.  His  home  was  in  Sonora  ; 
he  was  here  only  on  a  visit.  I  have  often  heard  of  but 
have  never  seen  him  since.  We  found  that  many  of  the 
older  Indians  on  the  Gila,  remembered  the  Mormon 
Battalion  that  passed    through    their    country  in   1846. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 


We  Visit  the  Governor  of  Arizona — An  Indian  Country — My  Talk 
with  the  Natives — The  Custom  Officer — He  Favors  our  Entry 
into  Mexico. 

ON  LEAVING  the  Gila  our  route  led  to  Tucson.  We 
crossed  the  eighty-five  mile  desert  where  the  Bat- 
talion suffered  so  much  for  water.  When  we  crossed 
there  were  two  wells  furnishing  good,  pure  water.  One, 
two  hundred  feet  deep,  where  there  was  a  small  stock 
ranch  and  station.  For  support,  the  owner  sold  water 
to  travelers. 

At  Tucson  we  received  a  letter  from  Brigham 
Young,  from  which  I  will  give  a  short  extract,  dated, 
Salt  Lake  City,  November,  8th,  1875. 

"Since  your  departure  from  Salt  Lake  City  on  your 
way  southward,  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
have  been  called  to  aid  in  the  building  up  of  the  King- 
dom of  God,  in    various    parts  of  the  earth.     Among 


250  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

these,  a  party  have  started  in  charge  of  Elder  James  S, 
Brown,  who  intends  to  winter  somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Moencoppy  (without  a  more  suitable 
place  is  found)  and  from  there  spread  out  as  opportunity 
offers." 

At  Tucson,  we  found  quite  a  number  of  white  resi- 
dents. This  old  town  has  been  so  well  described  by 
many  writers,  that  I  will  simply  say,  it  never  was,  is  not 
now,  and  never  will  be  much.  Its  only  merit  is  in  its 
being  so  very  old ;  some  two  hundred  and  seventy-one 
years.  Our  intention  had  been  to  go  from  Tucson  to 
Sonora.  But  at  the  time  there  was  a  hot  revolution 
under  way,  and  everything  was  in  confusion.  There  was 
no  safety  whatever  for  anyone  entering  the  country. 

We  had  a  letter  of  introduction  from  C.  T.  Hayden 
of  Tempe  to  Gov.  Safford  who  resided  in  Tucson.  We 
had  a  pleasant  visit  with  his  excellency.  Mr.  Safford  is 
much  respected  by  the  inhabitants  of  Arizona,  he  having 
been  the  framer  of  the  Arizona  public  school  system, 
which  is  acknowledged  to  be  excellent.  From  the 
Governor  we  received  a  letter  to  Mr.  Jeffries,  the  Indian 
agent  at  Apache  Pass.  We  were  invited  to  preach  in 
the  court  house  at  Tucson,  and  had  a  good  attendance 
and  attention. 

The  Police  Gazette  had  me  pictured  out  as  being 
rotten-egged  by  a  lot  of  women,  while  preaching  in  a 
town  in  Arizona.  Tucson  was  the  only  town  we  preached 
in,  in  Arizona,  while  on  this  mission.  So  much  for  sensa- 
tional reports. 

Owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of  affairs  in  Sonora,  we 
concluded  to  go  farther  east  and  visit  El  Paso  and  then 
go  into  the  state  of  Chihuahua.  Our  mixed  outfit,  both 
wagon  and  pack  animals  were  inconvenient;  and  as  the 
roads  were  good,  we  concluded  to  get  another  wagon. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  25! 

Having  sold  some  of  our  animals  we  had  money  to 
spare,  so  we  bought  an  excellent  wagon  from  the  quarter- 
master, at  the  post  near  Tucson. 

We  now  had  a  good  outfit.  Our  wagons  took  the 
place  of  the  pack  animals,  but  we  retained  our  saddle 
horses. 

The  next  place  of  importance,  to  which  we  looked 
forward  with  some  anxiety,  was  Fort  Bowie.  On  arriv- 
ing there,  we  presented  our  letters  to  Jeffries,  who  was 
in  charge  of  the  reservation  at  Bowie.  But  the  Indians 
seemed  to  be  in  charge  of  both  Jeffries  and  several  com- 
panies of  soldiers  stationed  there,  for  the  Indians  did 
about  as  they  pleased. 

It  was  considered  somewhat  risky  to  pass  through 
the  Apache  Pass.  According  to  an  agreement  made 
at  Beaver  with  D.  H.  Wells  to  be  careful,  we  camped  a 
day's  travel  this  side  of  the  Indians,  and  with  one  of  the 
brethren  went  in  to  see  how  things  looked.  I  felt  a  little 
uneasy.  The  Indians  were  under  no  control  whatever, 
save  that  of  self-interest.  The  government  gave  them 
everything  they  wanted,  and  more.  They  had  provisions 
of  every  kind  so  abundantly,  that  a  great  deal  was 
wasted.  They  had  all  the  guns  and  ammunition  they 
wanted,  and  were  allowed  to  raid  at  will  into  Sonora  and 
Chihuahua.  It  was  generally  believed  that  they  were 
encouraged  by  some  of  the  whites  in  their  raiding. 
When  I  talked  with  the  agent,  he  said  we  were  safe 
enough  if  we  did  not  happen  to  run  across  any  drunken 
Indians  on  the  road ;  but  as  the  weather  was  cold  and 
disagreeable,  he  did  not  think  any  of  them  would  be  out. 
Advised  us  to  stop  at  the  mail  station  near  the  fort  and 
not  turn  out  any  animals. 

We  went  back  to  camp  and  reported  All  felt  like 
we  would  be  safe.     We  all  had  faith  in   being  protected 


252  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

for  we  were  on  a  mission,  not  of  our  own  choosing. 
We  got  in  next  day  all  right.  Our  animals  needed  shoe- 
ing so  we  concluded  to  lay  over  a  day.  I  had  a  great 
desire  to  talk  to  these  Indians,  believing  that  they  would 
listen  a  little.  I  made  some  inquiry  of  the  trader  who 
had  been  with  them  for  some  years,  about  their  tradi- 
tions. He  said  they  had  none,  only  to  murder  and  steal. 
This  I  found  afterwards  to  be  a  great  mistake. 

I  asked  Mr.  Jeffries,  permission  to  talk  to  the  Indians. 
He  rather  jeeringly  replied,  ''I  don't  think  you  can  get 
them  to  listen  to  you,  I  am.  the  only  man  they  will  talk 
to." 

I  answered,  ''All  I  ask  is  your  permission  and  if 
they  won't  listen  to  me,  all  right." 

He  said,  "Go  ahead,  I  guess  you  can't  make  them 
much  worse  than  they  are  anyway." 

I  inquired  if  any  of  the  Indians  talked  Spanish. 
Their  interpreter,  a  drunken  little  Mexican,  offered  to 
interpret,  if  I  would  pay  him,  saying  that  that  was  his 
business,  and  that  no  one  had  a  right  to  talk  to  the 
Indians  except  through  him.  I  told  him  that  the  agent 
had  given  me  the  privilege  of  talking  to  them ;  that  I 
was  not  working  for  money,  and  that  I  did  not  intend  to 
pay  for  any  interpreting.  He  then  pointed  out  an  Indian 
that  spoke  tolerable  fair  Spanish. 

I  approached  the  Indian  and  spoke  to  him.  He 
answered  quite  short  and  asked  what  I  wanted.  I  told 
him  that  what  I  wanted  to  say  to  him  was  for  his  people's 
good ;  that  if  he  would  listen  to  me  a  few  minutes,  he 
could  then  judge. 

He  looked  me  in  the  eye  for  a  moment  and  then 
said,  "All  right,  say  what  you  please." 

I  asked  him  if  the  Apaches  had  any  knowledge  of 
their  fathers,  counting  back  many  counts.     He  answered 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  253 

that  they  had  lost  that,  and  did  not  know  anything  about 
them. 

I  showed  him  one  of  our  books,  and  informed  him 
that  it  told  about  their  old  fathers.  At  this  he  got 
up  and  called  to  a  lot  of  other  Indians  that  were  loafing 
around.  Some  thirty  or  forty  soon  gathered  around 
me.  I  commenced  and  explained  considerable  to  them. 
They  were  growing  quite  interested  when  the  agent  was 
seen  approaching. 

They  seemed  to  understand  that  my  words  were 
not  for  the  agent's  ears,  and  manifested  as  much  by  their 
remarks,  so  I  changed  the  subject  and  said  that  the  Mor- 
mons had  also  sent  lis  to  look  for  country  to  settle,  as  we 
were  growing  and  wished  new  country ;  that  we  would 
perhaps  settle  near  them ;  that  we  were  friends  to  the 
red  man  and  hoped  the  Apaches  would  be  friendly  with 
us. 

The  agent  had  approached  near  enough  to  hear  this 
talk.  He  stayed  around,  giving  me  no  further  chance 
to  explain  the  Book  of  Mormon  to  them.  He  made 
some  remarks  to  call  their  attention  away  from  me.  I 
could  see  plainly  that  he  wished  me  to  stop  talking,  so  I 
told  the  Indians  we  would  meet  again  sometime.  I  felt 
that  I  had  made  a  little  impression  for  good  upon  them. 

Sometime  after  this  I  had  a  good  long  talk  with  the 
Apaches,  which  I  will  give  an  account  of  in  the  proper 
place.  We  had  a  vague  idea  of  the  western  portion  of 
Chihuahua,  where  the  Mormons  are  now  settling,  but 
could  get  no  definite  directions,  as  we  met  no  one  who 
seemed  to  know  much  about  the  country.  So  we  con- 
cluded to  continue  on  the  main  road  to  El  Paso.  Nothing 
of  interest  occurred  on  the  way.     All  went  well  with  us. 

We  drove  into  Franklin,  a  small  town  on  the  Amer- 
ican side  of  the  line,  opposite  El  Paso.     The  main  ques- 


:2  54  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

tion  now  was,  how  will  we  be  able  to  pass  the  custom 
house  and  get  our  books  and  outfit  over  the  Hne  into 
Mexico.  Many  persons  had  told  us  that  we  would  never 
be  allowed  to  pass,  as  Catholicism  ruled  in  that  country 
and  they  would  never  permit  us  to  enter  with  Mormon 
publications.  Our  hopes  were  in  the  overruling  Power 
to  help  us.  None  of  us  pretended  to  have  wisdom  for 
the  occasion. 

We  were  standing  in  the  street  about  noon.  I  was 
talking  to  a  gentleman,  telling  him  that  we  wished  to  pass 
over  the  line  at  once  with  our  outfit.  Our  mission  was 
ito  Mexico,  and  we  felt  like  going  ahead  and  getting  in. 
We  intended  to  remain  there  until  spring.  It  was  now 
January. 

While  talking  with   the  stranger  he   said,  pointing 

-toward  three  men  passing:   "There  go  the  custom  officer 

.and  post  master ;  the  other  man   is  a  good  interpreter. 

The  post  master  is  an  American,  but  is  a  great  friend  of 

^the  custom  officer.     They  are  going  into  the  post  office 

mow.     They  have  just  been  to  dinner  and  will  be  in  a 

good  humor.  You  had  better  go  at  once  and  see  them." 

I  went  to  the  office  and  inquired  if  I  could  see  the 

•custom   officer.     I  was  invited   into  a  back  room  where 

the  three   sat  smoking.     Politeness  is  the   rule  in   that 

country.     I  was  asked  to  take  a  seat  and  offered  a  cigar. 

The  custom  officer  inquired  through  the  interpreter  how 

^he  could  serve  me.     I  told  him  I  was  traveling  with  some 

others,  seven  in  all,  and  we   wished   to  cross  over  into 

Mexico  at  once,   as   we   desired  to  winter  there.      He 

asked  about  our  outfit,  then  our  loading.     I  told  him  it 

^consisted  of  the   necessary  utensils,  provisions,  clothing, 

etc.,  for  travelers.     Then  a  lot  of  books  we  intended  to 

'distribute  gratis  through  the  country. 

He  >wanted  to  know  what  class  of  books  they  were : 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  255 

if  religious.  I  told  him  they  were.  He  said  he  would 
rather  have  some  good  novels ;  that  he  did  not  care  much 
for  religion,  but  asked  what  denomination  we  represented. 

I  told  him,  ''Mormons." 

At  this  all  three  burst  into  loud  laughter,  the  post 
master  and  interpreter  making  many  jesting  remarks  to 
the  officer,  and  saying  to  me,  "Yes,  he  will  let  you  in. 
You  are  all  right.     You  will  get  in." 

I  was  a  little  puzzled,  not  knowing  whether  this  was 
favorable  or  otherwise. 

Soon  the  custom  officer  turned  (as  yet  I  had  not 
spoken  a  word  of  Spanish)  and  said  directly  to  me, 
"Well,  I  guess  I  will  have  to  let  you  in.  I  have  just 
been  telling  these  gentlemen  that  I  am  a  Mormon  in 
principle,  and  that  I  wished  some  of  them  would  come 
along.  That  I  thought  your  religion  the  most  sensible 
of  any.  You  will  do  good  in  Mexico,  and  you  shall 
cross  over.  I  will  fix  it  so  you  will  not  have  to  pay  a 
cent." 

I  now  thanked  him  in  his  own  language  and  said  we 
would  try  and  act  so  as  to  retain  the  good  opinion  he  had 
of  us  and  our  people. 

We  shook  hands  as  friends.  He  kept  his  word 
entirely,  and  we  crossed  over  at  once,  rented  quarters 
and  got  ready  for  the  winter's  campaign.  We  were  the 
first  Mormon  missionaries  that  entered  Mexico.  This 
was  in  January,  1876. 


256  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

A  Priest  warns  his  Congregation  Against  Mormons — We  find  some 
Friends — Our  Plans  for  the  Season — Letter  from  President  Young 
— Threats  of  some  Rowdies — The  Peaceful  Results. 

WE  ARRIVED  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico  on  Friday. 
It  was  not  long  before  everyone  in  El  Paso  knew 
of  the  arrival  of  Mormons.  We  were  stared  at,  but 
nothing  occurred  until  Sunday  that  indicated  anything 
unusual.  On  Sunday  we  concluded  to  go  to  the  Catholic 
church,  the  only  one  in  town.  The  building  was  crowded. 
We  stood  in  a  group  near  the  entrance.  There  was  quite 
a  jam  of  people  around  as,  and  many  furtive  glances  and 
dark,  wicked  looks  were  directed  toward  us. 

About  the  worst  element  in  Mexico  can  be  found  in 
Paso  del  Norte,  or  El  Paso.  Padre  Borajo  (pronounced, 
borah-ho)  officiated.  After  the  usual  services  of  tingling 
bells,  kneeling  before  the  cross  and  various  performances 
common  in  a  Mexican  Catholic  church,  services  were 
over.  The  padre  who  was  quite  old  and  lean  (something 
very  unusual  for  a  priest ;  most  of  them  being  rather 
corpulent)  mounted  the  stand,  and  in  a  very  impressive 
mann  er,  commenced  to  warn  the  people  against  us. 

These  were  his  words  in  substance : 

''The  world's  history  gives  an  account  of  great 
plagues  that  have  visited  the  world  from  time  to  time. 
Mankind  has  been  subjected  to  great  calamities,  such  as 
wars,  storms,  cholera,  small  pox,  great  drouth  and  floods. 
We  of  this  land  have  been  subjected  to  many  plagues. 
The  murderous  Apaches  have  made  war  upon  us  for 
many  years.     We  have   had  our  ditches  and  dams  de- 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  257 

stroyed  by  floods,  so  that  some  seasons  we  have  had  to 
suffer  hunger. 

*'We  have  had  many  revolutions  and  thousands 
have  been  killed.  Lately  we  have  had  the  grasshoppers 
come  and  destroy  every  green  herb  and  product.  But 
all  these  things  have  made  war  only  on  the  body  of  the 
man.        None  have  had  a  tendency  to  destroy  the  soul. 

"Now  of  all  the  plagues  that  ever  visited  the  earth 
to  curse  and  destroy  mankind  we  have  the  worst  just 
come  to  us  and  there  stand  the  representatives  of  this 
plague.  Look  at  them.  Their  faces  show  what  they 
are. 

"Thanks  to  God  we  have  been  warned  in  time  by 
the  Holy  Pope  that  false  prophets  and  teachers  would 
come  among  us. 

"These  men,"  pointing  to  us,  "represent  all  that  is 
low  and  depraved.  They  have  destroyed  the  morals  of 
their  own  people,  and  have  now  come  here  to  pollute 
the  people  of  this  place."  (I  thought  if  that  was  so  we 
had  a  hard  job  on  hand.)  "They  have  no  virtue.  They 
all  have  from  six  to  one  dozen  wives.  Now  they  have 
come  here  to  extend  the  practice  into  Mexico.  /  de- 
nounce them.  Yes,  here  in  the  presence  of  the  image  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  I  denounce  them  as  barbarians.  *  * 
And  I  want  you  all  to  get  their  books  and  fetch  them  to 
me  and  I  will  burn  them." 

As  Brother  Tenney  was  not  present,  I  was  the  only 
one  of  our  party  who  perfectly  understood  his  words.  I 
began  to  feel  as  though  it  would  be  best  for  us  to  get 
out  of  the  crowd  before  the  spirit  got  too  high,  as  some 
fanatic  might  be  tempted  to  slip  a  sharp  knife  in  among 
our  ribs. 

We  managed  to  work  ourselves  gradually  out  of  the 
crowd  which  filled  the  door  yard  for  several  feet.     When 
16 


258  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

clear  we  walked  straight  way  to  our  quarters,  where  I 
translated  all  that  had  been  said.  It  was  taken  down  at 
the  time  and  to  the  best  of  my  memory  was  about  as 
here  given.  We  could  not  help  but  be  amused  at  the 
old  fellow's  vehemence,  and  our  first  introduction  to 
Mexico. 

For  some  days  after  this  when  women  in  the  streets 
would  see  any  of  us  coming,  they  would  jump  into  the 
first  door  and  close  it  and  then  look  out  through  what  all 
Mexican  houses  have  in  their  doors — a  peep  hole.  Some 
of  the  women  who  ran  from  us  were  of  the  class  that  do 
not  often  scare  at  a  man,  yet  they  acted  as  though  they 
dreaded  us. 

We  managed  to  pass  quietly  along  never  seeming 
to  notice  these  actions,  but  often  had  a  hearty  laugh 
when  we  got  to  our  quarters. 

On  enquiry  we  learned  that  the  laws  of  Mexico, 
under  the  new  constitution,  required  all  religious  services 
to  be  performed  in  a  structure  recognized  as  a  church 
building. 

One  liberal-minded  gentleman,  Esperidion  Sanches, 
gave  us  much  information.  He  said  the  law  simply  re- 
quired the  presiding  officer  of  a  town  to  recognize  a 
house  for  the  occasion,  and  put  the  police  to  protect  it ; 
but  if  the  civil  authority  was  under  the  influence  of  the 
priests,  they  could  baffle  us  and  forbid  us  preaching  in 
any  house  except  a  regular  church  edifice,  erected  solely 
for  religious  worship. 

Sanches  told  me  the  Jefe  Politico  of  Paso  del  Norte, 
was  an  affable  gendeman  but  a  strong  Catholic,  and  he 
doubted  if  we  would  be  able  to  get  the  privilege  of  hold- 
ing meetings.  When  we  called  upon  the  gentleman 
he  told    us  that  he   understood  the    law  forbade    any 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  259 

religious  services  performed  except  in  a  house  especially 
erected  for  religious  purposes. 

I  tried  to  reason  with  him.  He  listened  to  me 
patiently,  but  said  no  difference  how  unreasonable  the 
law  might  seem  we  would  have  to  submit.  I  then  asked 
him  if  the  law  defined  any  particular  material  to  be 
used,  or  size,  or  shape  the  house  should  be  built,  that 
possibly  we  might  take  it  in  hand  to  build  a  church. 
This  he  could  not  answer. 

I  visited  him  several  times  but  to  no  purpose.  The 
laws  forbade  all  street  preaching.  I  felt  determined  not 
to  be  beaten.  There  were  a  number  of  the  better  class 
of  citizens  visited  us  and  protested  against  the  way  the 
priest  had  talked  about  us,  saying  that  none  but  ignorant 
fanatics  would  sustain  such  talk. 

This  gave  us  an  opportunity  to  explain  our  mission 
and  principles  to  many  that  would  not  have  listened  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  padre  s  rabid  talk.  Finally  an  idea 
occurred  to  me.  President  Young  had  presented  me 
with  a  good  new  set  of  saddler's  tools  before  leaving 
Salt  Lake  City.  He  had  said  that  they  might  help  me 
out  sometime  when  nothing  else  would.  So  I  called 
once  more  on  the  Jefe  Politico.  He  was  always  patient 
and  polite. 

After  talking  a  while  about  the  meeting  house  I  told 
him  I  had  given  up  the  idea  of  holding  meetings  until  I 
went  to  Chihuahua  and  saw  the  governor.  This  seemed 
to  please  him  for  he  desired  peace,  and  he  was  afraid  for 
us  to  attempt  holding  meetings  in  Paso  del  Norte,  as  the 
people  were  much  under  the  influence  of  priest-craft. 

I  asked  him  how  he  would  like  a  saddle  shop  started. 
He  said  it  would  be  a  good  thing  ;  that  many  people 
needed  saddles  and  had  to  pay  a  high  price  for  them  ; 
that  he  thought  I   could  do  well  making  saddles  ;  in  fact 


26o  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

much  better  than  preaching,  as  no  one  would  pay  me  for 
preaching,  but  would  be  glad  to  pay  me  a  big  price  for  a 
good  saddle. 

When  I  talked  with  my  companions,  showing  my 
plans,  all  agreed  with  me.  So  we  rented  quite  a  large 
house  for  a  saddler  shop.  I  hired  a  bench  and  vise,  put 
up  my  tools,  bought  some  timber  and  went  to  work  mak- 
ing saddle-trees.     My  son  Wiley  assisted  me. 

Soon  the  people  began  to  call  in  to  look  at  my  work. 
As  there  was  no  law  against  conversation,  especially  in 
one's  own  house,  we  soon  got  to  having  quite  respect- 
able audiences  and  the  spirit  of  friendship  grew  up 
toward  us. 

Some  of  the  brethren  went  over  on  the  Texas  side, 
to  Ysleta,  to  winter  where  the  stock  could  be  fed  more 
cheaply  than  in  El  Paso. 

Brothers  Tenney  and  Smith,  did  not  want  to  go  on 
into  Mexico,  so  we  agreed  that  they  should  have  the 
privilege  of  laboring  in  New  Mexico  among  the  Pueblos 
and  Zunis,  and  then  return  home.  As  they  never 
reported  to  me,  all  I  know  about  them  is  what  I  have 
learned  from  others.  Brother  James  Brown  took  charge 
of  that  field  of  labor. 

About  this  time  I  received  the  following  letter: 

'''  Salt  Lake  City,  U.  T., 

''January  22nd,  1876. 
''Elder  D.  W,  Jones,  El  Paso,  Texas, 

"Dear  Brother: — K  was  more  than  pleased  to 
receive  your  favor  of  the  loth  inst,  and  was  much 
interested  in  its  contents,  not  to  say  amused  at  your 
account  of  the  oration  by  the  padre,  as  an  introductory 
greeting  into  Mexico.  Like  you,  I  doubt  not  but  that 
the  opposition  bodes  good  for  you,  and  the  success  of 
your  mission.     I  feel  that  it  would  be  wise  for  you  to 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  26 1 

visit  the  old  original  blood  as  much  as  possible.  Let  the 
Catholic  church  alone  ;  if  its  members  wish  to  hear  the 
truth,  expound  it  to  them  as  to  any  other  people,  but  do 
not  debate  with  them.  And  as  to  the  curses  of  the 
priests,  you  need  not  regard  them  as  much  as  you  would 
a  mosquito,  in  the  season  of  the  year  when  these  insects 
trouble. 

"Be  cautious  in  your  labors  and  movements;  do 
not  court  opposition,  but  move  steadily  on,  presenting 
the  truths  of  the  gospel  to  those  who  will  hear  you,  and 
inviting  all  to  become  partakers  of  the  gospel  of  the 
Son  of  God.  You  have  the  faith  and  prayers  of  all  that 
you  will  be  able  to  do  a  good  work,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
but  that  you  will  see  me  again  in  the  flesh  yet  many 
times. 

''Brother  James  S.  Brown  has  returned  from  his 
visit  to  Arizona.  He  left  the  brethren  of  his  party  build- 
ing a  fort  at  Moencoppy,  20x40  feet.  Whilst  in  that 
country  he,  with  three  others,  went  a  long  distance  up 
the  Little  Colorado  River,  from  the  Moencoppy,  passing 
up  beyond  where  you  crossed.  He  fully  substantiates 
the  statements  made  by  yourself  and  the  brethren  of 
your  party  with  regard  to  the  desirability  of  the  upper 
valleys  of  the  Little  Colorado  as  settlements  for  the 
Saints.  We  have  called  about  two  hundred  brethren, 
whom  we  think  of  dividing  into  companies  of  50,  to  set- 
tle on  the  Little  Colorado  and  adjacent  country.  These 
brethren  will  mostly  be  ready  to  start  by  the  ist  of  Feb- 
ruary. A  most  excellent  spirit  prevails  with  regard  to 
this  mission  amongst  the  brethren,  and  numbers  more 
would  have  been  willing  to  have  gone  had  they  been 
wanted.  We  shall  send  down  a  grist  and  saw-mill  dur- 
ing the  summer.  Among  those  called  is  Elder  Lot 
Smith,  who  will  have  charge   of  one   company  of  fifty. 

"Since  my  letter  to  you  of  Nov.  8th,  addressed  to 
Tucson,  we  have  had  a  very  peaceable  and  quiet  time. 
Judge  White  set  me  at  liberty,  soon  after,  from  the 
unjust  imprisonment  of  Judge  Boreman  for  contempt. 
Brother  Reynolds  has  again  been  tried,  convicted  for 
obeying  the  law  of  the  Lord  and  sentenced  to  two  years' 


262  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

hard  labor  in  the  U.  S.  House  of  Correction  at  Detroit 
and  $500  fine.  He  appealed  and  was  admitted  to  bail. 
The  appeal  will  come  up  in  June. 

"Brother  Cannon  has  been  seated  in  Congress;  his 
contestant  has  not  made  much  of  a  show  yet.  I  notice 
by  the  telegrams  that  Mr.  Christiancy,  senator  from 
Michigan,  has  introduced  a  bill  to  provide  for  challenges 
to  jurors  in  trials  for  bigamy  and  polygamy;  that  it  shall 
be  sufficient  cause,  for  the  rejection  of  a  juror,  that  he 
has  more  than  one  wife  living,  or  that  he  believes  It  mor- 
ally right  for  a  man  to  live  with  more  than  one  wife. 
Well,  the  faster  it  comes  the  sooner  the  end  will  be. 

''Our  legislature  is  now  in  session  with  plenty  of 
work  provided  for  it.  If  the  members  feel  it  consistent 
or  necessary  to  attend  to  all  that  is  suggested  they  will 
have  to  be  very  wary  and  prudent,  or  our  ever  watchful 
enemies  will  introduce  some  bills  that,  if  enacted,  will 
prove  snares  and  pitfalls.  They  will  have  to  work  for 
nothing,  for  Congress  has  allowed  the  U.  S.  Marshal  to 
spend  the  appropriations  for  the  payment  of  the  legisla- 
ture and  passed  a  law  prohibiting  the  legislature  from 
passing  any  act  to  pay  themselves  out  of  the  Territorial 
Treasury. 

"The  new  building  of  the  Z.  C.  M.  I.  is  a  great  suc- 
cess. It  is  lighter  than  the  most  sanguine  expected.  It 
presents,  now  that  the  elegent  front  is  on,  a  most  hand- 
some and  imposing  appearance.  We  expect  to  com- 
mence business  in  it  about  the  7th  of  March. 

"My  health  is  generally  good;  occasionally  I  catch 
cold  and  then  I  suffer  from  rheumatism.  I  hope  the 
temple  at  St.  George  will  be  sufficiently  near  completion 
at  the  end  of  February  to  enable  me  to  go  down  at  that 
time  and  dedicate  the  lower  portion. 

"With  love  to  yourself  and  all  the  brethren  associ- 
ated with  you,  and  with  constant  prayers  that  you  may 
enjoy  all  the  blessings  that  in  your  heart  you  can  right- 
eously desire,  and  that  abundant  success  may  crown 
your  labors,  I  remain 

"Your  brother  in  the  Gospel, 

"Brigham  Young." 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  '    263 

I  did  very  well  with  my  saddle  work,  earning  enough 
to  assist  some  little  in  keeping  up  expenses.  The 
brethren  with  me  were  all  diligent  and  acted  in  a  manner 
to  create  a  respect  for  our  people  and  religion. 

We  had  meetings  quite  often  on  the  American  side 
of  the  river,  that  were  generally  well  attended,  and  good 
order  prevailed  during  the  whole  winter,  with  one  excep- 
tion. 

We  were  informed  one  Saturday  that  there  was  a 
crowd  of  Irish  Catholics  that  intended  to  rotten  egg  us 
the  next  day,  Sunday,  if  we  attempted  to  preach  in 
Franklin.  I  told  our  informers  that  we  expected  to 
preach  and  hoped  the  Irishmen  would  change  their  minds. 

There  was  an  old  acquaintance  of  mine,  Tom  Mas- 
sey,  who  knew  me  in  Santa  Fe.  Tom  told  these  Irish- 
men that  he  did  not  know  what  religion  had  done  for 
me,  but  unless  it  had  done  more  than  is  common,  they 
would  not  meet  with  much  success,  and  advised  them 
not  to  try  it. 

Massey  was  a  saloon  keeper  and  gambler,  and  was 
considered  authority  on  all  questions  that  had  to  be 
settled  with  the  knife  and  pistol,  and  I  think  his  advice 
had  some  effect. 

However,  next  morning  when  meeting  opened  there 
was  quite  a  large  audience.  About  the  time  I  com- 
menced speaking  the  Irish  gents  came  in,  sat  down  near 
the  door,  and  soon  began  groaning. 

I  walked  down  near  them  and  told  them  that  I  was 
capable  of  making  all  the  noise  necessary,  provided  the 
audience  wished  to  hear  my  noise,  but  if  they  preferred 
theirs  to  mine  they  could  say  so,  and  I  would  give  them 
the  floor. 

Several  in  the  audience  called  for  me  to  go  on  and 
told  the  disturbers  to  keep  quiet.     They  made  no  more 


264  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

disturbance.  This  gave  me  a  good  text  and  I  explained 
plainly  the  gospel  of  repentance ;  referred  a  little  to  my 
experience  in  that  country  when  a  boy.  I  could  talk 
plainly  as  there  were  persons  present  who  had  known 
me  and  knew  that  I  was  rather  a  hard  case  in  a  rough- 
and-tumble-go-as-you-please  fight. 

I  told  them  our  doctrine  required  us  to  forsake  all 
of  our  evil  ways  and  to  be  willing  to  bear  all  kinds  of 
persecution  meekly;  that  I  had  endeavored  to  school 
myself  in  these  principles  and  hoped  that  I  had  suc- 
ceeded; but  that  I  was  not  quite  certain  yet;  and  that  I 
hoped  I  would  be  spared  the  trial  for  a  year  or  two 
longer  before  having  to  be  thumped  for  my  religious 
belief  as  I  might  not  be  prepared  to  take  abuse  with  a 
submissive  spirit. 

In  explaining  Mormonism  I  said  that  the  gospel  did 
not  debar  a  person  from  any  pleasure  he  desired  to 
enjoy.  Brothers  Pratt  and  Stewart  followed  and  spoke 
on  the  first  principles  of  the  gospel. 

After  meeting  was  dismissed  the  leader  of  the  dis- 
turbers met  us  at  the  door.  He  asked  me  to  go  and 
take  a  drink  with  him.     I  told  him  I  did  not  drink  liquor. 

"Then  you  go  back  on  your  own  words,  do  you?" 
he  questioned. 

I  asked  him  what  he  meant.  He  said  "While 
preaching  you  made  the  statement  that  your  religion 
allowed  you  any  pleasure  you  desired." 

"Yes  sir,  but  drinking  whisky  is  no  pleasure  to  me 
and  I  do  not  desire  to  drink  any." 

"Well,  do  you  ever  eat  anything,"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  we  are  all  good  eaters." 

"Well  then  come  with  me  to  the  hotel  and  I  will  pay 
for  a  good  dinner  for  as  many  of  you  as  will  come." 

Brother  Pratt  and  some  others  went  along.     We 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  265 

had  a  good  dinner  and  when  we  went  to  go  our  friend 
said,  "If  any  body  bothers  you  let  me  know  and  I  will 
lick  them  for  you.  I  like  to  fight  but  would  rather  fight 
for  you  boys  than  to  fight  you.     Good  bye." 

To  finish  this, — some  ten  years  after  as  I  was  sitting 
at  the  dinner  table  at  Pueblo,  Colorado,  I  noticed  a  man 
looking  across  the  table  at  me.  I  soon  recognized  him 
as  my  Irish  friend. 

I  spoke  and  asked  if  he  knew  me.  *'Yes,  I  know 
you.  How  are  you?"  he  asked,  reaching  across  the 
table  and  shaking  hands  with  me. 

"Have  you  ever  thought  of  me?"  I  enquired. 

"Yes  a  thousand  times." 

I  told  him  I  had  often  thought  of  him,  and  with  a 
few  more  words  we  parted.  I  feel  an  interest  now  in 
this  man  and  would  be  glad  to  meet  him  again  and  know 
his  name. 

I  can  say  that  I  have  often  observed,  in  the  course 
of  my  experience,  that  every  man,  even  the  worst,  has 
something  good  about  him  if  properly  treated. 


266  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

Justice   in  Early  Days — We  Prepare  to  go  Further — Our  Letter  of  In- 
troduction— Loss  of  our  Animals — We  Trail  and  find  Them. 

[WILL  give  you  a  short  account  of  the  actions  of  the 
first  authorities  of  FrankHn  as  given  to  me  by  the 
main  actor,  that  the  ''tenderfeet"  of  the  present  day  may 
know  a  Httle  of  the  experiences  of  early  days. 

When  Franklin  first  established  itself  as  a  town, 
Judge  Jones  was  elected  mayor  and  Ben  Dowel  marshal. 
Soon  after  organizing  a  number  of  roughs  came  in  and 
started  to  run  the  town,  defying  the  officers.  This  would 
have  been  all  right  and  possibly  admired  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  organization,  but  now  order  must  be  kept  and 
the  laws  vindicated. 

A  warrant  was  issued  and  the  marshal  and  posse 
approached  the  rioters.  A  man  was  killed,  but  the  out- 
laws kept  possession  of  the  street  and  defied  the  officers. 
Something  had  to  be  done. 

The  dockets  show  that  these  men  were  arrested, 
brought  to  trial  and  found  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree  ;  that  the  court  sentenced  them  to  be  shot ;  that 
Ben  Dowel  and  others  were  ordered  by  the  court  to 
execute  the  orders. 

Accordingly  the  orders  were  duly  executed,  and 
Dowel  and  his  assistants,  the  judge  being  one  of  the 
party,  proceeded  to  shoot  four  of  these  condemned  men 
on  the  street  in  front  of  the  main  saloon  of  the  town. 
They  were  buried,  as  the  records  show,  and  the  costs  of 
court  and  all  proceedings  duly  recorded. 

Judge  Jones  showed  me  the  record  and  explained 
how  it  was  done.     I  never  heard   any  complaint  about 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  26/ 

the  proceedings  but,  on  the  other  hand,  Judge  Jones  and 
Ben  Dowel  were  very  much  respected  by  the  average 
citizens  of  the  country. 

During  the  winter  Brothers  Pratt  and  Stewart  re- 
mained most  of  the  time  at  Ysleta.  Brother  Ivins  helped 
me  make  saddle-trees,  took  care  of  the  stock,  and  made 
himself  generally  useful.  I  worked  most  of  the  time  in 
the  shop,  my  son  Wiley  helping  me.  We  boarded  with 
a  Mexican  family,  Santiago  Vega,  who  treated  us  very 
kindly,  often  posting  us  on  what  was  said  of  us. 

The  Mexican  people  are  great  riders  and  fond  of  a 
good  saddle.  This  gave  me  a  chance  to  talk  to  the 
people.  All  seemed  friendly.  Even  the  priest  who  had 
given  us  such  a  setting  up  came  and  patronized  us.  We 
also  distributed  a  few  books.  We  tried  quite  hard  to 
get  a  hearing  from  the  natives  that  lived  in  and  around 
El  Paso,  but  the  priest  kept  such  a  watch  upon  our 
moves  that  we  had  but  little  chance. 

These  natives  are  known  as  Pueblos.  Never 
having  mixed  with  the  Spanish  blood  they  are  still  pure 
blooded  Indians.  They  are  generally  poor,  occupying 
lands  owned  by  the  rich.  They  desired  to  hear  us  and 
appointed  meetings,  but  were  warned  that  if  they  listened 
to  us  their  rents  would  be  raised  or  they  would  be  driven 
from  their  lands.  So  we  had  to  let  them  alone,  seeing 
their  situation. 

The  brethren  held  meetings  often  at  Ysleta  and 
adjacent  towns.  One  family,  by  the  name  of  Campbell, 
who  resided  at  San  Elesario,  opened  their  doors  to  the 
Elders,  treating  them  with  great  kindness.  This  family 
afterwards  joined  the  Church. 

After  recruiting  our  animals  and  feeling  that  we  had 
done  about  all  the  good  in  our  power  in  El  Paso,  we 
determined   to  make   a  move  into  the   interior  and  go  to 


2  68  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

the  city  of  Chihuahua.  We  were  told  that  the  governor, 
Senor  Ochoa,  was  a  very  Hberal-minded  man  and  not 
under  priestly  control,  and  that  he  would  be  very  likely 
to  allow  us  the  privilege  of  preaching. 

I  wrote  to  President  Young  regularly.  We  receiv- 
ed letters  from  him  in  return,  giving  us  kind  encourage- 
ment and  instructions. 

I  reported  to  him  our  finances,  which  were  getting 
short,  stating  that  we  intended  going  on  and  working 
our  way  through  the  best  we  could.  We  received  a 
postal  card  directing  us  to  wait  till  we  heard  from  him. 
When  we  did  hear  it  was  in  the  shape  of  postal  orders 
for  money  sufficient  to  bear  our  expenses  for  some  time. 

Before  leaving  El  Paso  I  called  on  the  Jefe  Politico. 
I  had  hoped  that  I  could  get  some  kind  of  a  letter  from 
him  that  would  assist  us  in  getting  introduced  into  Chi- 
huahua. 

The  Jefe  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  very  kind 
and  affectionate  father,  extremely  fond  of  his  wife  and 
children,  so  I  called  on  him  at  his  residence.  He  received 
me  kindly  and  expressed  regret  that  we  were  going 
away.  Said  that  he  had  had  his  opinion  changed  about 
the  Mormons.  ''From  the  way  in  which  your  company 
have  acted  I  think  the  Mormons  would  make  good  citi- 
zens, and  I  would  like  to  have  you  remain." 

I  told  him  our  duty  was  to  travel  through  the  coun- 
try and  visit  with  and  explain  to  the  people  our  princi- 
ples and  make  friends  with  them,  in  anticipation  that 
some  of  our  people  would,  in  time,  come  into  his  coun- 
try and  make  homes ;  that  they  were  now  coming  this 
way ;  that  we  had,  on  our  trip  found  country  and  report- 
ed back  the  same,  and  that  we  had  received  word  that 
several  hundred  were  getting  ready  to  follow  upon  our 
tracks  to  colonize  the  places  already  reported. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  269 

''Well,"  said  he,  "all  you  will  have  to  do  will  be  to 
do  as  you  have  done  here.  When  you  first  came  we  all 
thought  you  bad  men.  You  have  stayed  here  and 
behaved  yourselves  in  a  manner  that  we  now  look  on  you 
as  good  men  and  respect  you.  You  can  do  the  same 
wherever  you  go." 

I  replied  "Yes,  you  are  right,  but  it  will  take  a  long 
time.  We  desire  to  visit  a  great  many  places.  I  have  a 
good  kind  wife  at  home  whom  I  love  dearly.  I  have  a 
number  of  little  children  near  the  ages  of  yours  here.  I 
love  them;  they  are  fond  of  me." 

He  looked  at  me  a  moment  and  then  said:  "That  is 
so.  I  understand  your  feelings  and  will  give  you  a  letter 
that  will  introduce  you  to  the  Governor,  or  wherever  you 
go,  and  you  do  not  need  to  wait  three  months  to  intro- 
duce yourselves." 

He  gave  us  the  letter,  stating  that  we  were  gentle- 
men of  good  behavior,  etc.,  etc. 

We  bade  good-by  to  our  numerous  friends  and 
started  to  Chihuahua  in  the  latter  part  of  March. 

By  this  time  it  was  known  throughout  the  state  of 
Chihuahua  that  Mormon  missionaries  were  in  the  country. 
The  reception  given  us  by  the  padre  had  also  been 
heralded  abroad.  This  caused  the  more  liberal  minded 
to  sympathize  with  us.  Wherever  we  stayed  we  were 
kindly  treated.  We  managed  to  keep  posted  where  to 
apply  and  who  to  avoid.  The  liberal  people  notifying  us 
against  the  rabid  Catholics. 

The  first  day's  travel  from  the  Rio  Grande  brought 
us  to  a  station  where  water  was  supplied  in  a  large  tank. 
A  few  soldiers  were  stationed  here  as  a  guard  against 
the  Apaches  that  sometimes  raided  the  ranch.  This  was 
an  important  camping  place,  being  the  only  water  found 


270  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

on  a  75  mile  drive.  Grass  was  plentiful  and  travelers 
often  camped  here  for  their  teams  to  rest. 

We  were  now  in  a  country  where  our  stock  would 
liave  to  be  carefully  watched  every  night.  Our  custom 
was  to  feed  grain,  hopple  the  horses  and  take  turns 
guarding  them  through  the  night.  It  was  my  turn  to  go 
on  guard.  The  animals  were  eating  their  corn.  Grass 
was  good  all  around  the  camp.  The  night  was  very 
dark,  the  brethren  were  singing.  I  got  interested  in 
listening  and  delayed  a  few  minutes  attending  to  the 
stock.  When  I  went  to  take  charge  of  them,  they  were 
all  gone.     I  gave  the  alarm. 

One  man  remained  in  camp  to  keep  up  the  fire  and 
the  rest  of  us  spent  until  midnight  hunting,  but  nothing 
of  our  stock  could  be  seen. 

I  went  to  bed  feeling  about  as  miserable  as  any  one 
ever  did.  The  fault  was  my  own.  I  had  been  very 
-strict;  so  much  so  that  some  of  the  brethren  had  felt 
hurt  at  times.  I  had  been  so  careful  of  all  our  outfit. 
Now  I  felt,  after  all  my  strictness  I  had  been  the  one  to 
lose  the  stock. 

Next  morninpf  we  could  see  bunches  of  stock  in 
every  direction,  but  ours  could  not  be  found. 

At  length  Brother  Ivins  and  my  son  found  their 
trail  and  followed  it  some  ten  miles.  They  were  afoot 
and  the  trails  showed  that  the  animals  were  being  driven 
off,  so  the  boys  returned  and  reported.  I  went  to  the 
station  to  see  if  I  could  get  help.  The  commander  said 
it  was  his  business  to  lend  assistance  and  that  he  would 
do  all  he  could  for  me.  I  told  him  I  wanted  a  good 
horse  as  I  was  a  trailer. 

The  commander,  myself  and  two  others  were  ready 
in  a  short  time.  Orders  were  given  for  five  others  to 
follow  our  trail,    bringing    water   and  provisions.     We 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  27 1 

went  to  our  camp.     I  told  the  brethren  that  I  would  not 
return  without  the  stock. 

The  commander  wanted  to  know  of  me  how  long  I 
wished  to  follow  the  trail.  I  told  him  until  I  got  the 
animals  or  died  trying.  He  said  he  never  left  a  trail  as 
long  as  one  man  stayed  with  him. 

The  agreement  was  if  I  did  not  return,  the  brethren 
were  to  hire  a  team,  return  to  El  Paso,  and  report  to 
Brother  Brigham. 

As  soon  as  we  struck  the  trail  the  Mexicans  decided 
that  the  animals  had  been  stolen  by  Apaches,  as  we 
could  see  plainly  that  there  were  barefooted  tracks  along 
with  ours.  The  trail  was  quite  plain  until  we  reached  a 
low  mountain  range.  Here  the  formation  was  rocky  and 
no  trail  could  be  seen. 

I  had  taken  the  lay  of  the  country  in  the   distance 
and  picked  out  the  point  where  I  was  satisfied  the  ani-  • 
mals  would  have  to  go.     So,  while  the  Mexicans  were 
looking  for  tracks,  I  made  for  this  pass. 

On  reaching  the  summit  of  the  rise  the  country 
opened  out  somewhat  level.  I  made  a  circuit  and  soon 
struck  the  trail.  I  was  now  alone,  but  on  calling  the 
others  heard  me  and  soon  came  in  sight.  I  started  on  a 
gallop.  One  of  the  party,  riding  up,  overtook  and  com- 
plimented me  on  my  ability  to  trail. 

As  we  rode  I  looked  back  and  saw  a  signal  fire.  I 
asked  what  it  was  for.  My  companion  said,  ''The  cap- 
tain is  now  satisfied  that  the  Apaches  have  your  stock, 
and  that  is  a  signal  fire  for  some  more  men  to  come  on 
and  follow  our  trail,  bringing  water,  as  there  is  none  for 
three  days  in  this  direction." 

He  proposed  riding  a  little  slower  till  the  captain 
came  up.     I  felt  more  like  going  faster. 

There  was  a  clump  of  cedars  in  sight  in  the  direc- 


272  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

tion  we  were  going.  As  we  neared  it  the  Mexican  said, 
"There  are  your  animals ;  the  thieves  have  gone  in  there 
and  we  have  got  to  fight."  We  looked  back,  but  no  one 
was  now  in  sight. 

The  Mexican  asked,  ''What  shall  we  do?  Will  you 
fight?" 

I  told  him  I  would,  if  necessary,  and  for  him  to  take 
out  on  one  side,  keeping  out  of  gun  shot,  I  would  go  on 
the  other  and  we  would  get  beyond  the  cedars  and  keep 
the  thieves  from  running  the  stock  off. 

We  were  in  a  wide  flat,  with  mountains  on  each  side. 
We  rode  clear  round  on  the  run  and  met.  We  saw  no 
sign  of  thieves.  Soon  five  men,  with  the  Mexican  cap- 
tain, came  up. 

We  approached  the  cedars  cautiously  and  found  all 
the  animals  bunched,  but  no  thieves.  We  made  a  care- 
ful survey  of  the  country  and  found  the  tracks  of  the 
thieves,  where  they  had  gone  off  in  another  direction. 
The  captain  asked  if  I  wished  to  follow  them.  I  was  too 
thankful  to  get  the  stock,  so  I  told  him  to  let  them  go ; 
that  they  had  had  their  trouble  for  nothing. 

We  arrived  at  our  camp  about  sundown,  having  rid- 
den nearly  forty  miles.  The  commander  charged  us 
nothing,  but  we  made  the  soldiers  a  present  of  a  few  dol- 
lars, which  they  accepted  very  thankfully,  as  a  Mexican 
soldier  serves   for  almost  nothing  and   boards  himself. 

Our  animals  were  never  molested  afterward. 
There  was  quite  a  number  of  teams  camped  around  at 
the  time,  and  there  was  considerable  interest  shown,  as 
most  all  thought  it  was  the  Apaches  that  had  stolen  our 
animals,  but  it  was  doubtless  thieves  who  had  taken 
them  expecting  to  get  a  reward  for  fetching  them  back. 

When  we  returned,  the  captain  told  them  it  was  no 
use  for  any  one  to  steal  my  animals,  unless  they  rolled 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  273 

Up  the  tracks  as  they  went  along,  for  if  they  did  not  I 
would  find  them.  And  added  that  ''the  Mormon"  was 
the  best  trailer  he  had  ever  seen. 

Months  after  this  when  hundreds  of  miles  from  this 
place,  Mexicans  would  speak  of  the  circumstance  and 
quote  the  words  of  the  captain.  We  were  something 
strange  in  the  country  and  all  our  movements  and  actions 
were  watched  and  talked  about  so  that  wherever  we  went 
we  found  the  people  seemed  to  know  all  about  us. 


CHAPTER   XL. 


The  Object  of  our  Mission — Our  Arrival  at  Chihuahua — Our  Gener- 
ous Landlord — We  call  on  the  Governor — Interest  Aroused  Con- 
cerning us — Interview  With  Robbers. 

BEFORE  writing  any  further  account  of  our  travels 
and  experiences  in  Mexico.  I  will  explain  as  briefly 
as  I  can  the  cause  of  the  mission  being  called  and  the 
expectations  entertained  by  many. 

The  Book  of  Mormon  teaches  us  that  the  gospel  is 
to  be  carried  to  the  remnants,  that  is,  the  natives  of 
America  (Indians.)  The  promise  is  that  the  natives  will 
receive  the  gospel  and  rejoice  in  it. 

The  census  of  Mexico  shows  that  there  are  over  six 
millions  of  pure  blooded  Indians  or  descendants  of  the 
ancient  races  inhabiting  this  country.  Now  when  this 
mission  was  opened  a  great  many  became  enthusiastic 
over  the  prospects  and  expected  great  things  of  us,  the 
first  missionaries  to  Mexico.  I  remember  writing  to  my 
wife  while  in  El  Paso,  referring  to  this  spirit,  telling  her 
17 


2  74  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

that  many  would  be  disappointed  in  the  mission,  but  that 
I  should  not;  that  I  should  be  satisfied  even  if  we  did 
not  baptize  a  single  person  ;  that  our  mission  was  more 
as  prospectors  going  through  to  prepare  the  way,  and 
that  President  Young  so  understood  it.  We  were  to  be 
governed  by  circumstances  and  not  to  feel  disappointed 
if  we  could  get  to  distribute  our  books  and  learn  about 
the  country  and  make  friendly  acquaintance  with  the 
people.  That  was  all  that  would  be  expected  of  us  on 
the  trip.  This  was  our  calling.  We  were  not  sent  to 
baptize  and  organize  branches,  neither  were  we  forbidden 
to  do  so.  That  was  an  open  question  to  be  decided 
upon  according  to  the  openings  made. 

There  were  two  parties  in  Mexico,  the  Catholics  and 
Liberals.  We  kept  our  eyes  open  for  the  latter  as  we 
were  always  safe  with  them. 

When  we  reached  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  I  desired 
to  find  a  stopping  place  with  a  Liberal.  The  Liberals 
of  Mexico  believe  in  religious  liberty,  please  don't  think 
they  were  like  Utah  Liberals (?).  We  did  not  wish  to 
seem  partial  to  either,  and  did  not  like  to  make  a  direct 
enquiry.  I  was  well  acquainted  with  the  old  customs  of 
this  place,  having  lived  there  for  some  time,  so  we  drove 
up  near  the  Catholic  cathedral.  I  knew  that  any  good 
Catholic,  passing  in  front  of  the  church,  would  take  off 
his  hat,  but  a  Liberal  would  pass  along  with  his  hat  on. 

In  1847,  when  I  was  there,  all  had  to  take  off  their 
hats,  or  run  the  risk  of  getting  a  good  pelting  with 
rocks.  But  it  was  not  the  case  in  1876,  the  time  I  am 
now  writing  about. 

I  soon  noticed  a  large,  fine-looking  man  coming 
along  who  did  not  raise  his  hat.  I  asked  him  to  direct 
us  to  a  good  maison  or  hostelry.  I  felt  sure  he  would 
send  me  to  the  right  place  which  he  did,  to  the  maison 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  275 

San  Francisco.  A  maison  is  a  large  building  with  rooms, 
corrals  and  stabling  where  you  can  rent  accommodations 
and  sustain  yourself,  generally  with  stores  of  provisions 
kept  by  the   proprietor  to  sell  to  travelers,  connected. 

On  arriving  and  taking  rooms  and  stables,  I  went 
to  the  landlord  and  told  him  we  had  left 'our  money  at  El 
Paso,  to  be  expressed  to  us,  and  we  wished  him  to  credit 
us  for  a  few  days  for  such  provisions  and  feed  as  we 
needed.     He  said,  ''  No  sir.     I  will  not  do  that." 

I  was  ''stumped"  and  did  not  know  what  to  do  as 
we  had  but  a  few  dollars  with  us.  Our  outfit  was  first 
class  and  valuable,  and  we  had  not  expected  to  be  refused. 

While  I  was  wondering  in  my  mind  what  to  do,  the 
landlord  stepped  into  a  room  and  soon  returned  with  a 
large,  well-filled  pocket  book,  and  handed  it  to  me  say- 
ing, "There  is  money,  take  what  you  want,  and  when 
yours  comes,  you  can  return  it.  If  I  should  sell  you 
things  on  credit,  you  might  think  I  took  advantage  of 
your  circumstances  and  charge  you  more  than  if  you  had 
money.  Take  what  money  you  want,  look  around  and 
buy  where  you  can  do  the  best." 

I  thought  how  very  different  from  the  average  white 
man  whether  Gentile  or  Mormon. 

The  landlord  proved  a  true  gentleman  in  every 
respect,  giving  us  much  useful  information  and  treating 
us  kindly  during  our  stay. 

As  soon  as  we  got  cleaned  up  and  rested  a  little,  we 
called  upon  the  governor  and  presented  the  letter  received 
from  the  Jefe  Politico  of  El  Paso.  He  received  us  kindly, 
saying  that  he  had  heard  about  us,  and  laughingly  said 
he  had  heard  of  Padre  Borajo's  speech  and  hoped  we 
were  not  so  bad  as  the  padre  had   represented  us  to  be. 

Governor  Ochoa  was  an  intelligent,  liberal-minded 
man  and  was  much  respected.     His  name  is  still  held  in 


276  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

respectful  remembrance  in  Chihuahua.  He  was  known 
to  be  truthful  and  honest.  He  was  quite  learned  and 
understood  well  the  condition  of  Mexico. 

After  explaining  our  reasons  to  him  for  visiting 
Mexico,  he  said  he  was  glad  to  have  us  come  among 
them ;  that  he  believed  our  principles  taught  to  the  peo- 
ple would  do  them  good.  He  also  said  that  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  lands  of  Mexico  and  would  give  us  all 
the  information  he  could  to  help  us  understand  them 
properly,  so  we  could  report  correctly  to  Brigham 
Young. 

The  governor  recommended  us  to  the  Jefe  Politico 
of  Chihuahua  who  furnished  us  the  public  cockpit  to 
preach  in.  Printed  notices  were  circulated.  The  editor 
of  the  official  paper  gave  us  a  favorable  notice. 

In  the  evening,  at  the  time  of  meeting,  quite  a  re- 
spectable congregation  had  gathered.  The  cock  fighting 
was  still  going  on,  but  soon  closed.  Many  persons  there 
at  their  national  sport  remained  to  hear  us. 

As  I  was  the  only  one  who  could  speak  in  Spanish, 
Brother  Tenney  having  gone  north,  I  had  to  do  the 
preaching.  It  was  quite  a  task  but  I  knew  the  native 
politeness.  No  Mexican  will  ever  jeer  a  foreigner  if  he 
tries  to  speak  their  language.  They  will  listen  attentively 
and  try  to  understand.  I  understood  Spanish  quite  well, 
but  had  never  spoken  in  public  and,  no  doubt,  made 
many  blunders.     However,  our  audience  seemed  pleased. 

When  meeting  was  over  many  came  and  shook 
hands  with  us  and  said  they  liked  what  had  been 
preached.  One  aged  blind  man  who  had  held  a  discus- 
sion with  the  Bishop  of  Durango,  said  he  had  been 
preaching  our  doctrine  for  years.  He  showed  us  a  re- 
port of  his  discussion.  The  old  fellow,  although  very 
poor,  had  made  a  name  that  is  known  far  and  wide.     No 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  277 

one  could  answer  him.  He  came  to  our  rooms  next  day 
and  talked  for  a  long  while.  We  gave  him  some  of  our 
books  to  distribute.  He  lived  at  Jabonero,  southwest 
from  Chihuahua  some  two  hundred  miles.  He  said  the 
honest  people  of  Mexico  would  believe  our  words.  The 
old  man  manifested  a  great  desire  to  have  us  go  to  his 
town.  I  have  never  heard  of  him  since,  but  we  were  all 
impressed  with  his  honesty. 

By  invitation  we  visited  Gov.  Ochoa  several  times. 
He  explained  fully  to  us  the  condition  of  government 
lands.  He  said  the  Mexican  government  made  big 
offers  of  land  to  colonizers,  but  the  fact  was,  they  had  no 
good  land;  that  all  desirable  tracts  for  settling  were 
covered  by  old  grants  with  titles.  He  desired  us  to  say 
to  Brigham  Young  that  if  he  wanted  lands  for  his  people 
they  must  be  bought  from  the  owners;  and  for  him  not 
to  be  deceived  by  any  offers  coming  from  the  govern- 
ment of  Mexico.  He  said  their  offers  were  polite  and 
looked  pretty  on  paper,  and  sounded  well  when  listened 
to;  and  he  really  believed  that  if  they  could  do  as  they 
offered  to  they  would. 

"The  Mexicans  are  naturally  kind  and  polite,  but 
inasmuch  as  they  have  neither  land  or  money,"  he  said 
laughingly,  "you  must  take  the  will  for  the  deed." 

This  I  reported  to  Prest.  Young  on  my  return  home, 
who  received  it  as  a  fact,  and  remarked:  "Why  should 
there  be  good  lands  left  in  the  heart  of  Mexico,  when 
they  had  given  out  grants  clear  into  California,  New 
Mexico,  Arizona  and  even  into  this  territory?" 

We  remained  some  three  weeks  in  the  city.  A 
great  many  persons  called  upon  us,  some  to  enquire 
about  our  religion  with  sincere  interest,  others  for  mere 
curiosity.  Among  our  visitors  were  some  notorious 
robbers  from  Arizona  who  visited  us  often.     We  could 


278  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

not  avoid  them  as  they  passed  for  gentlemen,  and  really 
acted  as  such.  One  was  a  small,  heavy-set  Dutchman, 
who  seemed  to  know  all  about  the  big  mail  robbery  on 
the  southern  route  in  1875,  ^^  also  about  the  robbing  of 
Golinsky,  of  Silver  City.  The  other  was  a  young  man 
from  Silver  City  who  robbed  an  old  Dutchman  of  some 
fifteen  hundred  dollars,  not  far  from  Mecilla,  while  they 
were  traveling  together.  The  old  man  had  been  to 
California  for  five  years,  had  mortgaged  his  farm,  or 
bought  it  with  a  mortgage  given  as  security,  he  had  saved 
the  money  to  pay  up  and  was  on  the  way  home  full  of 
joy  to  meet  his  wife  and  children.  He  had  traveled  all 
the  way  from  California  on  horseback  and  alone,  not 
even  a  pocket  pistol  to  protect  himself  He  carried  a 
fifteen  hundred  draft  and  some  little  money.  He  looked 
quite  poor.  No  one  would  have  suspected  him  worth 
robbing. 

This  young  man  got  in  company  with  the  old  fellow 
and  they  traveled  and  camped  together.  The  Dutchman 
confided  his  good  luck  to  the  lad,  who  could  not  stand 
the  temptation  but  made  the  old  man  give  up  ;  the  boy 
rode  ahead  and  got  across  the  line,  changed  his  draft  and 
skipped.  We  saw  both  while  in  El  Paso.  The  old  man 
came  in  hunting  the  robber,  where  we  heard  his  story. 
The  young  fellow  told  my  son  Wiley  all  about  the  job, 
and  expressed  himself  sorry,  saying  he  was  of  good 
family  but  was  now  ruined  for  life. 

In  talking  to  the  people  we  found  that  many  adhered 
to  and  respected  their  ancient  traditions.  They  also 
retained  a  respect  for  their  native  Hneage.  This  spirit 
prevailed  strongest  among  the  Liberals. 

The  power  of  Catholicism  had  been  broken  and  a 
new  constitution  adopted  under  the  leadership  of  Juarez, 
who   had   overcome   Maximilian.      Juarez   was  a  pure- 


FORTY    YEARS   AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  279 

blooded  Indian.  His  most  active  helpers  and  the  main 
portion  of  his  army  were  composed  of  natives.  So  at  the 
time  we  were  there  it  was  respectable  to  be  called 
Indigine,  or  native.  This  class  received  the  Book  of 
Mormon  readily  and  manifested  much  interest  in  the 
same. 

While  in  Chihuahua  we  sent  out  copies  of  the  book, 
five  in  a  package,  to  each  town  and  city  throughout  the 
republic,  wherever  there  was  a  mail. 

The  clerks  in  the  post  office  assisted  us  for  three 
days.  All  their  spare  time  they  were  packing  and  direct- 
ing. Each  package  was  directed  to  the  officers  of  the 
place  with  a  request  to  read  and  distribute  them  among 
the  people.  We  sent  to  all  the  head  officers  of  the  dif- 
ferent departments  a  package.  I  received  letters  of 
acknowledgment  from  some  of  the  principal  men. 

Among  the  rest  Sr.  Altamarano,  a  full-blooded 
native  and  a  high  officer  of  state;  I  got  several  letters 
from  Doctor  Rodacanaty  professing  to  have  had  a  vision 
showing  him  the  truth  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 


2  8o  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

We  Decided  to  Visit  Guerero — Meetings  at  Concepcion — We  Prepare 
to  Return  Home — The  Priest  at  Temosachic — His  Kindness  to 
Us — Testimony  of  a  Stranger. 

AFTER  finishing  up  our  work  in  the  city  of  Chihuahua 
we  decided  to  visit  the  western  portion  of  the 
state. 

We  had  received  information  that  a  great  many 
natives  lived  in  the  Canton  de  Guerero.  This  district 
commences  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west  of  the 
city  of  Chihuahua  and  extends  into  the  Sierra  Madre 
mountains.  The  greater  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Guerero  are  natives  known  as  Tarumarie.  Many  vil- 
lages of  these  people  are  located  in  the  valleys  near  the 
mountains. 

There  are  many  towns  and  villages  that  retain  the 
old  Indian  names.  Towns  that  were  there  when  the 
Spaniards  first  came  into  the  country  have  come  under 
Catholic  rule.  Cathedrals  were  built  and  a  few  Span- 
iards settled  among  the  people,  mixing  with  them.  (In 
some  settlements  most  of  the  mixed  blood  claim  relation- 
ship to  the  padres}^  In  this  way  Spanish  civilization 
somewhat  modified  the  habits  of  the  people,  but  did  not 
do  away  with  them  entirely,  for  in  most  of  these  towns 
pure  Tarumaries  inhabit  districts,  retaining  all  their 
ancient  customs  and  language. 

This  race  of  people  are  much  respected  throughout 
the  state  of  Chihuahua,  and  it  is  considered  rather  an 
honor  to  be  related  to  them.  We  concluded  to  make 
their  country  our  next  stopping  place. 

Bidding  good-bye  to  our  friends   in  Chihuahua,  and 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  28 1 

particularly  to  our  good  old  honest  governor  Antonio 
Ochoa,  we  started  west.  Our  route  led  through  a 
country  that  was  very  sparsely  settled,  owing  to  the  lack 
of  water  for  irrigation.  The  city  of  Chihuahua  is  located 
in  a  rough,  barren  country,  which  continues  for  some 
thirty-five  miles  going  west. 

For  several  days'  travel  there  is  nothing  very  invit- 
ing to  the  eye.  But  on  reaching  the  higher  country  to- 
ward the  head  waters  of  the  Aras  river,  a  tributary  of 
the  Yaqui,  the  country  became  more  inviting.  We  con- 
tinued our  journey,  passing  settlements  and  ranches 
daily,  leaving  with  each  a  few  books  and  talking  a  little 
with  the  people  near  where  we  camped. 

Nothing  of  importance  occurred  on  the  road  except 
the  mending  of  one  of  our  horse's  hoofs  with  rawhide. 
The  hoof  had  been  badly  cracked  for  some  time.  As  we 
were  descending  a  rough,  rocky  hill  the  horse  stumbled 
and  struck  his  foot  against  a  boulder  so  hard  that  the 
hoof  split  clear  open  up  to  the  hair.  We  had  much  diffi- 
culty in  getting  him  into  the  settlement  a  few  miles 
ahead.  We  offered  to  sell  the  horse  but  could  get  only 
one  dollar  offered  for  him.  We  could  not  well  leave  him 
neither  had  we  money  to  spare  to  buy  another. 

Mexicans  are  great  people  to  use  rawhide,  and  I  had 
learned  from  them  to  use  it  in  many  emergencies. 

As  we  were  going  to  bed  Brother  Pratt  remarked : 
''Brother  Jones  why  can't  you  use  rawhide  on  John, 
(the  horse)  or  does  this  case  beat  you  ?  " 

The  question  put  me  to  thinking.  So  in  the  morn- 
ing I  obtained  a  suitable  piece  of  rawhide  from  a  Mexi- 
can, took  the  horse  to  a  blacksmith  who  put  some  tallow 
and  burnt  horn  into  the  opening  of  the  hoof,  then  seared 
it  with  a  hot  iron.  I  then  took  the  rawhide  and  fitted 
it  nicely  over  the  whole  hoof,  lacing  it  behind  and  under- 


262  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

neath.  The  blacksmith  fitted  a  shoe  and  nailed  it  on, 
driving  the  nails  through  the  rawhide  which  now  formed 
the  outer  crust  of  the  hoof.  We  let  the  horse  stand  in  a 
dry  place  until  the  next  morning  when  the  nails  were 
tightly  clinched. 

We  laid  over  one  day  to  see  how  this  would  work, 
then  continued  our  journey.  The  horse  traveled  as 
though  nothing  had  happened,  and  finally,  when  the  hide 
came  of?  after  we  had  traveled  some  six  hundred  miles, 
the  hoof  was  entirely  healed  up.  This  may  not  be  inter- 
esting, but  might  be  profitable  to  some,  and  for  that 
reason  I  relate  the  circumstance. 

On  arriving  at  the  village  of  Concepcion,  (the  princi- 
pal town  of  Guerero,)  we  enquired  for  a  good  place  to 
stop,  and  were  directed  to  Don  Eselso  Gonzalez,  where 
we  soon  made  arrangements  for  the  necessary  accommo- 
dations. 

Don  Eselso  furnished  us  good  quarters  with  a  large 
hall  attached,  had  it  seated  with  benches  brought  from 
the  bull  pen  which  he  owned.  We  held  several  meet- 
ings that  were  well  attended  and  much  interest  was 
manifested  by  some,  while  all  treated  us  kindly. 

One  man,  Francisco  Rubio,  really  understood  and 
believed  the  Book  of  Mormon;  as  once  in  meeting  he 
took  it  in  his  hand  and  explained  it  in  a  more  lucid  man- 
ner, especially  the  part  relating  to  the  Savior's  appear- 
ance on  this  continent,  than  I  had  ever  heard  before. 
Individually,  I  received  new  light  from  the  native. 

From  what  I  have  seen  now  and  then  among  the 
natives  I  sometimes  think  that  the  people  called  Latter- 
day  Saints  are  only  half  converted.  I  have  seen  and 
felt  more  warmth  of  spirit  and  faith  manifested  by  natives 
than  I  ever  saw  by  white  Saints.  Even  the  Apaches  told 
me  that  they  would  not  wait  long  for   the    winding-up 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  283 

scene,  when  they  once  had  power  and  authority  from 
God  to  act  in  His  name.  That  faith,  which  will  yet 
remove  the  powers  of  evil  from  around  the  Saints,  will 
come  largely  from  the  remnants.  I  think  we  will  need 
them  in  our  work  and  should  be  looking  after  them  some 
little  and  not  altogether  after  money. 

We  deposited  our  money  with  Don  Eselso.  Many 
times  getting  articles  from  his  store,  and  when  we  went  to 
settle  up  for  house  rent  and  other  things,  he  would  not 
take  a  cent,  but  insisted  on  presenting  us  with  some 
dried  meat  and  other  stuff,  jokingly  remarking  that  he 
could  not  sell  it  anyway. 

While  here  we  visited  Arisiachic,  the  principal  Taru- 
marie  town.  The  trail  was  very  difficult.  We  were 
well  received.  The  chief  called  the  people  together  and 
we  had  a  long  talk  with  them.  They  were  very  much 
pleased  with  our  visit  and  hoped  we  would  return  some 
day. 

We  remained  in  Concepcion  about  three  weeks. 
Held  several  meetings  which  were  well  attended.  Many 
people  visited  us  to  learn  of  our  doctrine.  We  were 
fully  convinced  that  many  believed  in  the  truth  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  yet  we  had  no  spirit  to  offer  baptism. 

By  this  time  some  of  the  brethren  began  to  manifest 
a  desire  to  return  home.  At  first  I  felt  a  little  disap- 
pointed, but  I  can  look  back  now  and  see  that  our  mis- 
sion was  properly  a  short  one.  We  were  united  in  one 
idea,  and  that  was  before  any  great  work  could  be  done 
in  this  country  it  would  be  necessary  to  colonize  among 
the  people. 

As  to  the  spirit  of  the  people,  we  all  agreed,  also, 
that  it  was  favorable,  so  it  was  deemed  best  that  we 
work  our  way  toward  home,  visiting  the  various  settle- 
ments on  our  way. 


284  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

We  left  many  warm-hearted  friends  at  Concepcion, 
some  testifying  to  having  a  perfect  faith  in  the  Book  of 
Mormon  and  expressing  a  strong  desire  that  the  Mor- 
mons would  come  and  dwell  among  them. 

On  our  way  home  we  turned  off  from  the  road  at 
Tejoloquechic  west  to  visit  the  towns  of  Matachic  and 
Temosachic,  the  last  a  place  containing  some  fivQ  thous- 
and inhabitants.  The  people  of  these  towns  received  us 
not  only  kindly,  but  many  of  them  manifested  great  faith 
in  our  teachings.  They  often  insisted  on  giving  us  some- 
thing for  our  books,  saying  we  had  a  long  way  to  travel 
and  would  need  something  to  help  us  on   our  journey. 

At  Matachic  Tomas  Tribosa  opened  his  house  to  us 
and  we  had  a  large  congregation.  We  talked  freely  and 
plainly  to  the  people.  Many  persons  had  told  us  that  we 
would  be  all  right  so  long  as  we  let  the  subject  of  poly- 
gamy alone;  but  if  that  was  ever  taught  the  women 
would  knife  us. 

This  night,  while  speaking,  I  felt  impressed  to  talk 
on  the  principle  of  plurality  and  explain  plainly  the  doc- 
trine. There  were  quite  a  number  of  women  present. 
After  meeting  was  dismissed  I  went  to  the  end  of  the 
hall  where  the  women  were.  Many  of  them  came  and 
shook  hands  with  me  and  said  they  would  rather  their 
husbands  would  do  as  we  taught  than  as  many  of  them 
did.     No  one  seemed  offended  in  the  least. 

Wherever  we  held  meetings  permission  had  to  be 
first  obtained  from  the  civil  authorities.  When  we 
arrived  at  Temosachic,  the  proper  officer  for  granting 
this  license  was  out  of  town.  A  man  was  sent  four 
miles  for  him,  it  not  being  certain  whether  he  would  be 
found  or  not. 

While  we  were  arranging  to  send  a  courier,  the 
priest  of  the  settlement  came   up.     He  expressed  the 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  285 

hope  that  we  would  be  able  to  find  the  officer.  Said  he 
desired  very  much  to  hear  us  and  asked  if  the  padre  at 
Chihuahua  had  offered  his  church  to  us. 

I  told  him  he  had  not.  He  said  he  wished  he  had 
set  the  example,  then  he  himself  could  invite  us  into  his 
church,  where  a  license  would  not  be  required ;  but  he 
did  not  like  to  risk  being  the  first  to  open  a  Catholic 
church  building  to  us. 

"But,"  said  he,  "you  must  come  down  tonight  (it 
was  now  about  noon),  and  I  will  have  a  good  lot  of  my 
people  together.  There  is  no  law  against  friends  sitting 
down  and  talking  on  a  decent  subject.  I  want  to  ask 
some  few  questions  if  you  will  answer  them." 

I  replied  that  we  would  come.  We  conversed  for 
some  time  and  the  padre  seemed  quite  interested. 

We  were  camped  some  three  miles  away,  at  the 
edge  of  the  town.  About  sundown  Brother  Pratt  and  I 
walked  down  to  the  public  square  where  we  had  appointed 
to  meet  the  priest.  We  felt  as  safe  as  if  at  home  in  Salt 
Lake  City. 

On  arriving,  the  priest  and  quite  an  audience  were 
awaiting  us,  but  there  was  no  word  from  the  officer,  so 
we  concluded  to  sit  and  chat. 

A  great  many  pertinent  questions  were  asked  and 
answered.  The  best  of  order  prevailed  and  a  good  feel- 
ing was  manifested.  The  priest  said  he  would  study  our 
book  and  if  he  could  not  understand  it  he  was  willing 
for  his  people  to  study,  and  if  they  could  see  good  in  our 
doctrine,  he  wanted  them  to  have  the  privilege  of  receiv- 
ing it.  He  said  that  he  was  now  getting  old ;  that  he 
had  always  worked  for  the  good  of  the  people,  and  that 
he  did  not  want  to  keep  any  good  thing  away  from  them. 

Next  morning  we  started  back  to  take  up  our  road 
for  home.     We  had  turned  off   at  Tejoloquechic.     On 


286  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

reaching  there  the  people  had  gathered  a  donation  of 
corn  and  beans,  for  us  and  insisted  on  our  receiving  it. 
We  took  some  but  told  them  we  could  not  haul 
much. 

The  next  place  where  anything  of  interest  occurred 
was  at  Namaquipe,  a  town  on  the  Upper  Santa  Maria 
river.  We  arrived  at  this  place  on  Sunday  about  ten 
o'clock,  intending  to  spend  the  day  of  rest  there.  We 
camped  in  the  shade  of  some  cottonwoods  near  a  large 
ranch  house,  across  the  river  from  the  main  town. 

I  went  to  the  house  to  buy  some  dried  meat.  I  met 
an  old  lady  who  sold  me  the  meat,  giving  quite  a  liberal 
quantity  for  twenty  five  cents.  I  made  her  a  present  of 
one  of  our  books,  and  went  back  to  camp. 

Some  time  after  noon  this  same  lady  with  a  very  aged 
companion,  came  into  camp.  The  old  man  looked  over 
one  hundred  years  old.  We  learned  that  he  was  a  hun- 
dred and  three  years. 

On  being  seated  the  old  gentleman  said^  "You  were 
up  to  my  house  this  morning." 

"Yes  sir." 

"You  got  some  meat." 

"Yes  sir." 

"You  paid  for  it." 

"Yes  sir."  I  began  to  think  of  the  lot  I  had  gotten 
for  my  money. 

"You  left  a  little  book." 

"Yes  sir." 

"Did  you  get  pay  for  it?" 

"No  sir.  I  did  not  want  pay  for  the  book.  We  do 
not  sell  these  books." 

"Yes,  but  you  paid  for  the  meat.  That  was  not 
right." 

Here  the  old  man  held  the  book  up  and  said,  "I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  287 

have  been  reading  this  book.  I  understand  it  and  know 
who  you  are.  You  are  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ,  just 
the  same  as  Peter,  James  and  John,  and  I  know  it.  And 
I  also  know  this  book  is  true."  He  then  turned  to  his 
wife  and  said:  "Wife  have  I  not  been  telling  our 
neighbors  for  two  years  past  that  apostles  having  the 
true  gospel  would  come  to  this  land,  and  that  I  would 
live  to  see  them?" 

We  were  astonished  to  hear  this  testimony,  so  direct 
and  positive. 

Don  Francisco  Vasquez  continued  and  asked  us  if 
we  intended  to  return  to  the  country  soon.  We  told 
him  we  did  not  know  but  we  hoped  to.  He  said  he 
would  like  to  be  baptized  and  receive  the  benefit  of  the 
gospel  before  he  died. 

Next  morning  when  we  passed  his  home  he  made 
us  take  four  sacks  of  corn ;  all  we  could  haul. 

The  old  man  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  five  years 
old.  I  visited  his  family  ten  years  afterwards.  The  old 
lady  was  still  alive.  She  told  me  that  Don  Francisco,  on 
his  death-bed,  called  his  family  around  him  and  told  them 
all  to  be  baptized  when  the  Mormons  came.  Some  forty 
persons  agreed  to  do  so.  His  oldest  son  told  me  the 
same.  They  were  still  hopeful,  but  how  long  their  hopes 
will  hold  out  I  cannot  say.  Possibly  until  the  "Liberals" 
drive  us  out  of  this  land  into  Mexico,  where  the  greater 
number  of  the  remnants  live.  Then  and  not  till  then 
will  we  feel  the  obligation  of  carrying  the  words  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon  to  the  Lamanites. 

Many  times,  when  thinking  of  this  old  man  and 
others  of  the  district,  I  have  cried  like  a  child,  never 
having  seen,  from  that  day  to  the  present,  any  dis- 
position manifested  to  continue  a  mission  in  that  part  of 
the   country.     Of  late  years  I  have  concluded   that  the 


288  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

people  are  better  as  they  are  than  they  would  be,  unless 
those  going  among  them  go  with  the  spirit  of  true  friends 
and  as  colonizing  missionaries. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


Experience  at  El  Valle — We  Travel  Through  a  Dangerous  Indian  Coun- 
try— Soldiers  on  the  Move — Visit  from  an  ''Old  Timer." 

AFTER  leaving  Namaquipe  the  the  next  place  of 
importance  is  El  Valle.  We  arrived  about  noon 
and  halted  on  the  public  square.  We  saw  a  large  crowd 
collected  at  a  corner  store.  I  took  a  tin  can  and  told  the 
brethren  that  if  we  could  not  get  the  privilege  of  preach- 
ing here  I  would  get  some  lard  and  we  would  move  on. 
The  crowd  w^as  watching  us ;  as  I  approached  them  I 
could  see  that  something  special  was  up.  I  went  into 
the  store  and  inquired  where  I  could  find  the  Alcalde.  A 
man  asked: 

''What  do  you  want  with  him?" 

•T  want  to  get  permission  to  preach  here." 

*T  can  answer  that  you  cannot;  we  have  all  the 

religion  we  want.     We  have  held  a  mass  meeting,  and 

the  citizens  of  this  place  have  appointed  me  to  meet  you 

on  your  arrival  and  notify  you  that  you  can  go  on.     We 

know  who  you  are  and  want  nothing  to  do  with  you." 

I  made  no  reply ;  but  turned  to  the  merchant  and 

asked    him   if  he   had   any   lard.     At  this   many  of  the 

crowd  commenced  to  laugh  and  make  pleasant  remarks, 

saying  that  the  stranger  took  it  very  coolly.     The  mer- 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  289 

chant  said  he  was  out  of  lard  and  did  not  know  of  anyone 
who  had  any  but  Don  Pedro  who  had  been  talking  to 
me.     I  asked  him  if  he  would  sell  me  some. 

''Yes,  sir,  but  it  is  quite  a  distance  from  here  to  my 
house;  if  you  wish  to  go  so  far  with  me  I  will  let  you 
have  what  you  want." 

"All  right,  I  will  go  with  you." 

When  we  started  most  of  the  crowd  followed.  Don 
Pedro  commenced  talking  in  a  very  earnest  manner,  tell- 
ing me  that  they  had  just  received  a  letter  from  the  Pope 
warning  all  Catholics  against  false  prophets,  etc.,  and 
that  they  were  all  fully  prepared  beforehand  to  reject  our 
heresies.  He  kept  up  his  talk  until  we  arrived  at  his 
house. 

He  now  got  a  pamphlet  and  commenced  reading. 
This  was  the  printed  circular  of  the  Pope.  I  listened 
patiently  until  my  opponent  finished.  The  house,  a  large 
one,  was  crowded,  nearly  a  hundred  persons  present.  I 
now  asked  permission  to  answer  the  Pope's  letter  and 
explain  our  side. 

Don  Pedro  objected.  My  reply  settled  him.  I 
told  him  I  had  been  much  in  Mexico  and  mixed  among 
the  people  a  great  deal  and  I  had  always  found  them 
mannerly  and  polite,  especially  to  strangers  and  in  their 
own  house.  That  I  was  now  under  his  roof  and  protec- 
tion— a  stranger — and  appealed  to  him  as  a  true  Mexican 
gentleman  to  hear  me.  At  this  many  of  the  crowd  said, 
"Let  the  stranger  speak." 

Don  Pedro  now  consented,  but  soon  interrupted  me. 
I  reminded  him  that  I  had  listened  to  him  in  perfect 
silence,  and  unless  he  did  the  same  I  should  claim  to  be 
more  of  a  gentleman  than  he  was.  This  made  quite  a 
laugh,  and  the  voice  was  for  me  to  have  the  floor  uninter- 
ruptedly. 
18 


290  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

In  brief  I  will  say  that  I  fully  satisfied  myself;  spoke 
with  perfect  freedom  and  handled  the  priests  and  Pope 
without  gloves.  When  I  got  through  Don  Pedro  said 
his  whole  opinion  was  now  changed,  asked  for  a  book, 
saying  he  would  read  and  study  it  whether  the  priests 
liked  it  or  not.     When  we  left  all  was  friendly. 

The  district  of  country  we  had  been  passing  through 
appeared  to  be  the  most  desirable  for  colonizing.  We 
made  diligent  enquiries  about  lands,  titles,  conflicting 
water  interests  and  making  notes,  all  of  which  were 
reported  to  Prest.  Young  on  our  arrival  home. 

As  we  neared  the  frontier  settlements  there  was 
great  excitement  as  the  Apaches  were  out  on  the  war 
path  and  had  killed  some  men  near  Fort  Bowie.  They 
had  had  a  fight  with  the  soldiers  and  whipped  them,  and 
were  now  raiding  the  country  in  every  direction. 

Some  of  the  officials  at  Galiana  talked  of  stopping 
us  from  going  any  further.  But  we  were  very  anxious 
to  continue  on  so  we  told  them  we  would  be  careful  and 
not  run  into  danger. 

"'  After  leaving  Casas  Grandes  our  road  was  really 
lonesome  and  dangerous.  It  was  some  three  days' 
travel  to  Cow  Springs  before  we  would  see  a  ranch. 
However,  we  made  the  trip  without  accident,  traveling 
the  most  dangerous  parts  in  the  night  time. 

One  night  we  had  our  nerves  sorely  tried.  My 
intention  was,  if  we  ever  met  the  Apaches,  to  approach 
them  alone,  believing  I  could  make  peace  with  them  the 
same  as  I  had  done  before  with  other  Indians. 

While  traveling  along  one  night.  Brother  Ivins  and 
my  son  riding  ahead  of  the  wagon,  our  little  watch  dog 
that  had  been  of  great  service  to  us  many  times,  gave 
notice  that  someone  was  approaching  in  the  road. 

I  called  to  the  boys  to  stop.     I  went  and  got  on  my 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  29 1 

son's  horse,  telling  him  to  go  back  to  the  team.  Brother 
Ivins  and  I  rode  on  a  short  distance.  The  night  was 
rather  dark,  but  soon  we  saw  a  lot  of  what  appeared  to 
be  savage-looking  Indians  coming.  They  were  on  foot 
and  armed.     They  halted  on  seeing  us. 

I  told  Brother  Ivins  to  go  back  to  the  wagon  and  I 
would  go  and  meet  them,  and  if  they  shot  me,  he  and  the 
others  must  jump  into  the  brush  and  try  and  save  their 
lives  as  best  they  could. 

I  got  off  from  my  horse  and  walked  up  to  the 
Indians,  who  stood  in  a  group,  filling  the  road.  As  I 
approached  alone  they  did  not  seem  to  make  any  move 
whatever.  I  spoke,  saluting  them  in  Spanish.  They 
answered  all  right.  I  offered  them  my  hand  and  they 
all  shook  hands  with  me.  I  asked  them  where  they  were 
going.  They  said  down  to  their  homes  and  asked  where 
I  was  going. 

I  told  them  I  was  going  to  my  home  a  long  way  off 
in  the  northern  country.  Thus  we  kept  asking  and 
answering  questions  till  one  asked  why  we  were  travel- 
ing by  night.  I  told  them  that  my  companions  were 
afraid  of  them,  but  that  I  was  not  for  I  was  a  friend  to  the 
Indians  and  did  not  believe  they  would  ever  kill  me. 

They  began  to  laugh  and  asked  me  who  I  thought 
they  were. 

I  asked,  ''Are  you  not  Apaches  ?  " 

"No,  senor,  we  are  not  Apaches,"  they  answered, 
"but  like  you  we  are  traveling  in  the  night  because  we 
are  afraid  of  them." 

I  now  called  to  my  companions  who  had  been  wait- 
ing in  suspense.  All  my  bravery  and  fortitude  were 
wasted,  further  than  to  prove  to  myself  that  I  was  willing 
to  stand  the  test. 

We  had  a  good  long  talk  with  these  Indians  who 


292  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

were  of  the  Opitas,  a  people  similar  to  the   Pimas,  and 
who  live  in  the  foothills  of  the  Sierra  Madre  in  Sonora. 

As  we  neared  the  frontier  ranches  on  the  American 
side  we  found  that  the  Apache  war  was  a  reality.  We 
camped  at  Cow  Springs.  Much  apprehension  was  felt 
at  Burro  Sienega.  Here  we  met  Mr.  Connor  whom  we 
had  met  on  the  trip  down.  His  father  and  brother  were 
killed  shortly  after  at  this  ranch. 

We  heard  that  soldiers  were  concentrating  at  Bowie 
with  orders  to  capture  and  take  all  the  Apaches  to  the 
San  Carlos  reservation.  Apache  signal  fires  could  be 
seen  in  the  mountains  south  of  Bowie.  Our  route  now 
led  through  the  most  perilous  part  of  the  country;  hun 
dreds  of  people  having  been  killed  along  this  road  in  past 
years,  our  feelings  were  to  put  our  trust  in  God  and  go 
on.  We  arrived  at  San  Simon  where  a  lot  of  "  hard 
cases"  were  camped.  It  was  a  question  whether  we  were 
safer  with  them  than  alone;  but  they  were  afraid  and  felt 
better  while  we  were  with  them.  Next  day  was  the 
''teller."  If  we  could  make  Bowie  all  right,  our 
chances  would  be  better  from  there  on  as  troops  were 
en  route  to  that  post  from  Camps  Verde,  McDowell 
and  Apache.  Our  day's  travel  from  San  Simon  to 
Bowie  was  one  of  anxiety,  but  we  made  it  in  safety. 

We  decided  to  take  a  different  route  on  our  return 
from  the  one  traveled  going  down.  So,  on  leaving 
Bowie,  instead  of  taking  the  main  road  back  to  Tucson, 
we  decided  to  go  by  the  way  of  Fort  Grant,  Camp 
Thomas,  Camp  Apache  and  on  to  the  upper  Little  Colo- 
rado. The  road  from  Camp  Thomas  to  Camp  Apache 
was  reported  to  us  as  almost  impassable  for  wagons, 
none  having  attempted  the  trip  for  some  three  years  past. 
The  troops  moved  across  the  mountains  with  pack  ani- 
mals.    However,  we  concluded  to  try  it. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  293 

From  Bowie  to  Camp  Grant  there  was  a  drive  of 
nearly  seventy-five  miles  without  water.  We  made  the 
most  of  the  distance  in  the  afternoon  and  night. 

On  turning  out  our  teams  just  before  day,  they  were 
too  thirsty  to  eat  the  grass,  it  being  somewhat  dry.  We 
only  had  about  two  gallons  of  water,  which  we  had  kept 
for  drinking  and  cooking.  On  seeing  the  condition  of 
our  poor  animals  we  took  most  of  the  water  and  wet  up 
some  bran  we  happened  to  have,  giving  a  little  to  each 
animal.  They  ate  it  with  a  relish,  then  started  for  the 
grass,  eating  heartily  for  some  time,  when  we  hitched  up 
and  made  the  rest  of  the  distance  in  good  time. 

Since  this  experience,  when  traveling  through  desert 
country  I  have  made  it  a  rule  to  carry  a  sack  of  bran. 
When  water  becomes  scarce  wet  a  feed  of  bran  with  one 
half  gallon  of  water  and  it  will  do  as  much  good  on  the 
last  end  of  a  hard  drive  as  three  times  the  water  without 
bran. 

Troops  were  being  massed  at  Camp  Grant.  The 
orders  were  for  all  the  Apaches  to  move  to  San  Carlos, 
the  greater  portion  being  willing  to  do  so.  The  Chiri- 
cahuis  had  not  yet  decided  to  come  in.  There  were  a 
number  of  scouts  camped  here.  We  laid  over  for  a  few 
days  as  we  had  a  desire  to  learn  something  about  these 
Indians  and  the  condition  of  affairs  before  going  on. 

We  managed  to  get  acquainted  with  some  of  the 
leaders.  They  came  to  our  camp  and  talked  most  of 
one  night. 

As  I  intend  to  devote  a  whole  chapter  to  Apache 
history,  I  will  then  relate  our  conversation  with  these 
Indians,  which  was  very  interesting  to  all  of  us. 

From  Camp  Grant  to  Camp  Thomas  we  passed 
numbers  of  Indian  camps.     They  would  try  to  look  sav- 


294  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

agely  at  us,  but  I  could  always  get  a  friendly  look  before 
quitting  them. 

We  had  heard  much  about  the  Upper  Gila  Valley, 
the  country  settled  now  mostly  by  our  people.  Before 
arriving  at  the  river  crossing  we  fell  in  company  with  an 
intelligent  Mexican  who  lived  in  Pueblo  Viejo.  He  gave 
us  such  full  and  satisfactory  information  about  the  coun- 
try that  we  concluded  to  make  our  report  from  it  and 
not  spend  any  time  exploring. 

While  in  camp  on  the  Gila  river,  on  our  return 
home,  we  met  an  old-timer,  who  related  to  us  some  of 
his  personal  history.  I  was  so  much  interested  in  the 
story  that  I  have  concluded  to  give  it  to  the  readers  of 
this  book. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 


Narrative  of  our  Visitor's  Life — His  Early  Studies  and  Aspirations — 
His  Marriage  to  a  Deceitful  Wife — He  Flees  to  California — His 
Wife  Assumes  Repentance  and  he  Returns  to  her  —  Further 
Hypocrisy. 

ABOUT  noon,  while  we  were  in  camp,  a  gentleman, 
apparently  some  forty-five  years  of  age,  came  down 
the  trail  from  the  mountains.  His  outfit  consisted  of 
two  fine  looking  mules,  sleek  and  fat,  with  all  his  traps 
neatly  packed.  His  riding  rig  and  arms  were  all  of  the 
best;  his  blankets  and  clothing  clean  and  neat.  The 
owner  himself  was  a  large-sized,  fine-looking  man,  and 
in  every  way  presented  the  appearance  of  a  gentleman. 
We  were  near  the  road  and  as  from  the  direction  he 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  295 

had  come  and  the  hour  being  noon,  it  was  natural  to 
suppose  that  he  would  make  camp.  We  invited  him  to 
stop  and  share  our  shade  tree  with  us.  Politeness  and 
hospitality  can  be,  and  often  is,  extended  in  the  camp  of 
the  traveler  as  well  as  in  the  abode  of  a  dweller. 

As  the  stranger  unsaddled  we  noticed  his  move- 
ments were  graceful.  His  mules  were  perfectly  gentle 
and  seemed  to  understand  their  master's  kindness  to 
them.  This  captured  me  individually,  for  if  there  are 
more  unpardonable  sins  allowed  than  are  on  the  list,  and 
it  was  my  duty  to  furnish  another,  I  believe  I  would  hand 
in  "cruelty  to  dumb  brutes." 

I  have  seen  men  who  are  considered  both  good  and 
great  by  some  people — themselves  included — who  would 
get  angry  with  their  animals  and  beat  them  in  a  cruel, 
senseless  manner,  even  showing  a  murderous  spirit.  I 
have  always  believed  that  such  persons  would  serve 
human  beings  the  same  way  when  in  anger,  only  they 
are  too  cowardly  to   take   the   immediate  consequences. 

Our  visitor  accepted  our  invitation  to  dinner.  We 
soon  found  that  he  was  an  ''old-timer,"  having  been  in 
California  and  the  west  for  many  years.  We  insisted  on 
his  resting  over  Sunday  with  us  and,  finally,  he  con- 
sented. 

Our  conversation  led  on  from  one  thing  to  another 
until  our  new  acquaintance  became  quite  communicative. 
His  conversation  was  very  interesting,  as  he  had  trav- 
eled a  great  deal  in  the  west.  He  had  visited  Salt  Lake 
City  and  knew  many  places  and  people  that  were  famil- 
iar to  us.  Finally,  he  gave  us  his  name  and  related  the 
following  story,  as  near  as  I  can  remember  it : 

He  was  a  native  of  one  of  the  Middle  States.  Was 
left  an  oi*phan  with  a  small  fortune,  some  thirty  thousand 
dollars.     His  disposition  was  to  make  the  best  use  pos- 


296  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

sible  of  his  time  and  money.  After  finishing  at  the  com- 
mon schools  he  attended  an  eastern  college,  studying 
medicine,  etc. 

While  at  college  he  was  allowed  a  stipulated 
amount  for  pocket  money.  This  was  always  used  pru- 
dently, but  not  stingily,  allowing  himself  all  the  pleasures 
he  desired,  such  as  would  be  proper  in  good  society ;  but 
never  spending  a  cent  in  vices  of  any  kind. 

At  the  same  college  there  were  a  great  many  young 
men,  sons  of  "well-known  capitalists.  Many  of  these 
wealthy  young  men  did  not  have  occasion,  seemingly,  to 
spend  any  more  money  than  did  our  friend ;  but  many  of 
them  were  addicted  to  habits  that  soon  emptied  their 
purses,  and  they  would  have  to  borrow,  sometimes  com- 
ing to  the  ''Doctor"  (as  we  will  now  call  him). 

Now,  inasmuch  as  these  rich  young  fellows  were 
often  "broke,"  whilst  the  Doctor  always  had  money  and 
to  loan,  and  at  the  same  time  never  showed  any  penuri- 
ousness,  it  became  rumored  that  he  was  immensely 
wealthy.  This  he  knew  nothing  about,  as  he  was  rather 
retiring  in  his  disposition  and  did  not  take  part  in  the 
gossips  of  the  day. 

As  time  went  on  he  found  himself  becoming  very 
popular  and  sought  after,  being  invited  to  parties,  balls, 
receptions,  etc.  He  thought  nothing  strange  of  this,  as  he 
met  others  whom  he  knew  to  be  his  inferiors,  although 
much  wealthier.  Money  influence  never  entered  his 
mind,  as  he  felt  content  with  his  little  fortune,  believing 
that,  with  a  good  profession  and  his  start,  he  would  be 
independent.  His  mind  was  at  ease.  He  neither  looked 
for  a  money-match  or  supposed  that  he  was  a  ''catch" 
for  anyone. 

Like  all  other  places,  this,  where  the  Doctor  was, 
had   its    belle — the   handsomest,   sweetest-dispositioned, 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  297 

most  unselfish  and  kind-hearted  divinity  upon  earth.  All 
the  young  bloods  were  in  love  with  her.  This  was  before 
people  got  "mashed."  Of  course,  she  treated  them  all 
so  nicely  that  each  fool  thought  he  was  the  favored  one. 
All  divinities  do  this,  I  am  told. 

The  Doctor,  according  to  his  own  words,  really  fell 
in  love  with  this  she-angel.  She  returned  his  affection 
with  compound  interest — in  her  eye.  The  courtship  was 
all  that  two  fond  hearts  could  wish,  as  the  Doctor's  purse 
was,  as  before  described,  always  equal  to  the  occasion. 
All  envied  his  success,  yet  respected  his  character  and 
perseverance. 

Everything  looked  bright.  So  the  Doctor  applied 
himself  to  his  studies  with  double  vigor,  looking  forward 
to  the  happy  day  when,  with  his  diploma  and  his  beauti- 
ful, intelligent,  loving  wife,  he  could  go  to  his  home  and 
old  friends  and  settle  down  to  business,  with  as  bright  a 
future  as  ever  man  hoped  for. 

After  graduating,  the  wedding  soon  followed. 
Everything  went  off  in  proper  shape,  no  lack  of  means 
being  in  the  way.  The  Doctor  never  asked  or  cared  what 
the  bride's  fortune  was ;  her  heart  and  love  were  all  the 
dowry  he  wanted.  Having  given  his  fullest  and  purest 
love,  he  fully  believed  that  hers  was  as  fully  returned. 

I  do  not  recollect  just  where  this  occurred;  but  this 
much  I  do  remember,  that,  after  the  wedding,  the  Doctor 
took  his  bride  aboard  a  boat  and  started  for  home,  sup- 
posing she  understood  his  intentions,  as  he  had  talked  of 
nothing  else  but  their  future  home  and  happiness. 

On  arriving  at  a  point  where  they  took  a  convey- 
ance, in  a  different  direction  to  what  the  lady  expected, 
she  asked :  ■* 

''Where  are  you  going?" 

The  Doctor  replied,   "This  is  our  way  to — " 


298  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

*'Why,  are  you  not  going  to  Europe  on  a  wedding 
tour?" 

''Well,  no;  I  had  not  thought  of  that.  We  are 
going  home.  We  cannot  well  afford  a  trip  across  the 
ocean ;  besides,  I  am  anxious  to  get  home  and  attend  to 
business." 

This  occurred  in  the  presence  of  many  persons. 

The  divinity  (?)  flew  into  a  terrible  rage,  asked  him 
who  he  was  that  business  called  him  home,  and  that  he 
could  not  afford  a  wedding  tour. 

In  relating  this  the  Doctor  seemed  to  go  through 
the  whole  scene  in  his  feelings,  the  tears  often  showing 
in  his  eyes.  He  did  not  pretend  to  relate  all  that  had 
been  said. 

Imagination  can  only  picture  his  feelings  when  he 
learned  that  there  was  no  love,  that  all  was  mercenary 
on  her  part,  and  as  he  never  had  in  any  way  meant 
deception,  it  was  a  cruel  blow.  But  like  a  true  man  he 
decided  at  once  and  took  her  back  home  ;  offered  her  a 
divorce  which  she  refused.  He  gave  her  most  of  his 
fortune  and  started  for  California,  probably  as  sad  a  man 
as  ever  crossed  the  plains. 

While  in  California  he  was  prospered  and  soon 
accumulated  quite  a  fortune.  After  a  time  his  wife 
seemed  to  repent  of  her  cruelty  to  him.  Wrote  him 
kind  and  loving  letters,  asking  forgiveness  and  excused 
herself  for  her  unnatural  conduct,  by  saying  it  was  on 
account  of  her  ill-health.  The  Doctor,  with  kind-hearted 
simplicity  finally  believed  her  and  returned. 

She  had  spent  the  most  that  had  been  given  her. 
The  doctor  now  commenced  anew,  with  all  his  former 
hopes  and  aspirations  rebuilt  as  much  as  possible.  All 
went  well  for  awhile. 

Two  children  were  born   and   the  doctor  really  felt 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  299 

happy.  But  all  was  sham  and  hypocrisy  with  his  wife. 
She  was  now  acting  so  as  to  get  hold  of  his  money  and 
property.  At  length  another  scene  was  enacted.  The 
doctor  was  told  all  that  was  wanted  of  him  was  his' 
money.  A  divorce  was  again  offered  and  urged.  The 
lady  refused,  but  declared  it  her  intention  to  hunt  him 
wherever  he  went,  till  the  day  of  his  death,  and  get  all 
she  could  out  of  him,  using  the  children  as  a  means  of 
working  upon  his  honor  and  her  rights  as  wife,  to  demand 
all  she  possibly  could. 

The  Doctor  again  left  for  the  west,  leaving  all  his 
property.  For  many  years  his  whole  aim  had  been  to 
keep  track  of  the  condition  of  his  children,  and  send 
money  for  their  education  to  a  trusted  agent ;  and  keep 
himself  hidden  from  the  knowledge  of  his  wife. 

In  doing  this  he  had  become  a  wanderer  upon  the 
earth,  but  he  was  still  a  gentleman. 

I  learned  more  about  this  man  afterwards — of  his 
private  business.  He  was  quite  a  successful  prospector. 
But  few  if  any  ever  heard  this  story  from  his  lips,  except 
ourselves.  And  as  it  was  not  given  me  for  publication, 
I  have  given  no  names. 

Like  this  man  there  are  thousands  in  the  far  west 
who  carry,  in  their  bosoms,  facts  that  would  be  far  more 
interesting  than  the  average  fictitious  romance. 


300  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 

We  Meet  Leading  Brethren  in  Arizona — Arrival  Home — Incorrect 
Reports  Concerning  Me — My  Horse  ''Tex" — Meeting  With 
President  Young — He  Accepts  Our  Labors. 

WE  FOUND  the  road  from  the  Gila  to  Camp  Apache 
to  be  most  of  the  way  about  the  roughest  any  of 
us  had  ever  seen.  It  was  all  we  could  possibly  do  to  get 
over  some  of  the  rough  places,  but  finally  made  the  trip 
without  break  or  accident. 

The  country  in  and  around  Camp  Apache  is  quite 
picturesque.  Grass,  timber,  small  streams  and  springs 
were  quite  plentiful  from  here  to  Cooley's  ranch,  and 
the  country  is  pleasant  to  travel  through. 

At  Cooley^s  we  were  hospitably  entertained  and  given 
much  useful  information.  From  him  we  learned  the  con- 
dition of  the  new  settlements  being  made  on  the  Little 
Colorado,  under  the  leadership  of  Lot  Smith  and 
Brothers  Allen,  Lake  and  Ballinger.  We  now  felt  some- 
what satisfied  with  our  trip,  realizing  that  we  had  been 
the  most  successful  prospectors  into  the  land  of  Arizona, 
our  reports  having  been  received  and  acted  upon. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  settlements  in  Arizona, 
New  Mexico  and  Old  Mexico  are  on  lands  explored  by 
our  party  on  this  trip.  From  Cooley's  ranch  we  followed 
down   the  country  to    Stinson's  farm,    now  Snowflake. 

Mr.  Stinson  had  also  visited  the  Mormon  camps  and 
spoke  highly  of  their  labors.  It  was  now  June.  As  we 
neared  the  settlements  we  felt  a  feeling  of  joy  at  the 
thought  of  meeting  friends  from  home. 

On  arriving  at  Allen's  camp  we  met  Prest.  Wells, 
Apostles  E.  Snow  and  B.  Young  with  several  others,  just 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  3OI 

from  the  settlements  of  Utah.  Here  we  learned  of  the 
death  of  Bishop  Roundy  by  drowning.  I  was  glad  to 
meet  the  brethren.  Brothers  Stewart,  Pratt  and  Ivins 
had  expressed  a  desire  to  return  home.  I  had  intended 
to  go  with  my  son  Wiley  to  where  we  supposed  Brothers 
Smith  and  Tenney  were  still  laboring,  but  here  learned 
that  they  had  gone  home. 

Prest.  Wells  advised  me  to  go  home.  I  told  him  I 
hated  to  return  just  then,  saying  that  I  did  not  feel  as 
though  I  had  filled  my  mission.  He  addressed  me  a  little 
sharply,  speaking  as  though  he  did  not  believe  me  and 
telling  me  I  had  better  go  in  with  his  company.  Whether 
Brother  Wells  believed  me  or  not  I  was  willing  to  stay  if 
left  to  follow  my  own   feelings,  but  I  did  as  he  advised. 

On  the  way  I  noticed  a  disposition  to  treat  me  rather 
coolly,  many  times  being  snubbed  when  offering  some 
information  about  our  trip.  I  could  not  understand  this 
very  well  at  the  time. 

On  arriving  at  Lot  Smith's  camp  I  met  my  daughter, 
Mary,  and  her  husband,  J.  Jordan.  They  had  been 
called  to  assist  in  settling  this  country.  My  son,  Wiley, 
remained  a  short  time  with  them,  then  came  on  to  Fair- 
view,  our  home.  The  trip  in  from  the  Little  Colorado  was 
not  very  pleasant  to  me ;  the  mode  of  travel  was  so  dif- 
ferent from  what  I  had  been  accustomed  to  that  I  was 
continually  out  of  humor.  My  mode  of  traveling  was 
and  still  is  to  watch  and  take  care  of  my  stock,  and  give 
it  all  the  advantages  possible.  I  have  always  been  able 
to  go  over  country  successfully  with  a  common  outfit, 
while  I  have  heard  of  others,  much  better  fitted  up, 
failing. 

We  had  made  a  trip  of  near  four  thousand  miles 
and  were  now  returning  with  the  same  animals  we 
started  with,  some  of  them  in  better  condition  than  when 


302  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

we  left.  Instead  of  getting  credit  for  this,  I  learned,  after- 
wards, that  reports  had  been  circulated  to  the  effect  that 
I  was  tyrannical  and  unjust,  and  these  statements,  doubt- 
less, had  their  influence  upon  my  friends.  Nothing  was 
said  to  me  on  the  road  about  these  reports,  but  I  could 
see  that  something  was  "out  of  joint"  from  the  treat- 
ment I  received,  which  could  not  be  particularly  defined, 
but  just  such  as  would  indicate  indifference  to  me. 
Finally,  it  became  so  disagreeable  that  I  concluded  to 
travel  alone ;  so  I  came  on  the  last  two  days  without  a 
bite  to  eat,  rather  than  be  subject  to  the  annoyances  in 
the  company  with  which  I  was  then  traveling.  I  got  in 
thirty-six  hours  ahead  of  the  rest. 

The  last  day,  crossing  the  Buckskin  Mountain,  I  got 
quite  hungry  and  thirsty.  I  had  about  a  quart  of  corn 
that  I  intended  to  eat,  but  saved  and  fed  it  to  my  faithful 
little  horse,  ''Tex,"  that  had  carried  his  rider,  my  son 
Wiley,  already  some  three  thousand   five  hundred  miles. 

"Tex"  was  in  good  condition  and  I  had  taken  him  to 
ride  in  from  Little  Colorado  home.  I  would  not  do 
justice  unless  I  mentioned  this  horse  for  he  was  the  most 
reliable  animal  I  ever  knew.  I  gave  him  all  the  corn.  I 
had  a  three  pint  canteen  of  water,  when  I  was  taking  a 
drink  "Tex"  came  up  and  licked  the  canteen  and  looked 
at  me  as  though  he  wanted  a  taste.  I  set  my  hat  on  the 
ground,  sinking  the  crown  so  as  to  form  a  dish  then 
poured  a  little  water  in,  then  the  horse  would  sup  it  up. 
I  gave  him  the  last  drop  although  I  was  then  dry  and  had 
a  big  half  day's  ride  yet  to  make  before  getting  to 
Johnston's  settlement. 

After  baiting  I  saddled  up,  arriving  at  Navajo  Wells 
about  one  hour  by  sun.  There  was  some  squaws  water- 
ing their  horses.  I  got  them  to  give  "Tex"  a  little 
water,  but  it  was  too  filthy  for  me  to  drink.     There  I 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  303 

again  baited  half  an  hour  then  got  on  my  horse  telling 
him  how  hungry  and  thirsty  I  was  and  that  I  had  given 
him  all  the  advantage  and  now  it  was  but  fair  for  him  to 
take  me  in  twelve  miles  in  a  hurry.  This  he  did  in  fine 
style  scarcely  breaking  the  gallop  all  the  way. 

I  met  President  Young  at  Kanab.  He  was  glad  to 
see  me  and  hear  the  report  from  Mexico.  Brother 
Young  was  a  true  friend  to  me  and  understood  my  dis- 
position. He  never  allowed  anyone  to  speak  against 
me  ;  he  knew  my  faults,  also  some  of  my  virtues.  One 
that  he  always  appreciated  was  my  stubbornness  ;  when  I 
started  on  a  trip,  I  had  always  stuck  to  it.  I  said  nothing 
to  him  about  my  annoyances. 

Brother  Brigham  expressed  himself  well  satisfied 
with  the  results  of  our  trip;  said  it  was  an  opening  for  a 
greater  work.  I  reported  all  the  brethren  good  and 
faithful,  doing  honor  to  those  we  represented.  I  never 
knew  until  coming  to  Salt  Lake  that  there  was  any  dis- 
satisfaction. I  knew  we  had  differed  in  our  opinions 
sometimes  about  standing  guard,  but  as  I  always  took 
my  turn  and  sometimes  more,  I  never  dreamed  of  anyone 
holding  ill-feelings  for  being  required  to  stand  guard. 

I  think  that  these  reports,  and  what  grew  out  of 
them,  have  affected  that  mission  and  do  to  this  day. 
Time  will  bring  all  things  right.  Many  strange  things 
are  permitted  that  we  cannot  see  any  use  in  at  the  time, 
that  afterwards  turn  to  be  a  blessing. 


304  FORTY   YEARS   AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

A  Colonizing  Mission  to  Mexico — I  Prefer  to  be  Relieved — My  Wish 
not  Granted — The  Company  who  Volunteered — Our  Start  from 
St.  George — Parting  with  President  Young. 

I  ARRIVED  home  about  the  ist  of  July,  1876,  found 
my  family  all  well;  I  settled  down  to  work  at  once 
making  saddle-trees,  as  they  were  in  good  demand,  and 
my  family  needed  the  help  they  would  bring. 

I  had  been  at  home  about  one  month  when  I 
received  a  note  from  President  Young  requesting  me  to 
come  to  the  city  as  he  wished  to  talk  to  me  about  the 
Mexican  missions. 

On  meeting  President  Young  in  the  city  he  said,  '*I 
would  like  to  have  you  pick  a  few  families  and  take  charge 
of  them  and  go  into  the  far  south  and  start  a  settlement. 
Would  you  like  to  do  it?"     I  answered,  "Yes,  I  will  go." 

''Whom  would  you  like  to  go  with  you  ?  I  want 
the  settling  to  stick,  and  not  fail." 

I  replied,  "  Give  me  men  with  large  families  and 
small  means,  so  that  when  we  get  there  they  will  be  too 
poor  to  come  back,  and  we  will  have  to  stay." 

He  laughed  and  said  it  was  a  good  idea. 

While  in  Salt  Lake  receiving  instructions  from 
President  Young  and  preparing  to  go  on  the  colonizing 
mission,  I  heard  for  the  first  time  of  the  hard  stories  told 
against  me. 

There  is  one  thing  I  would  like  to  say  that  I  think 
should  be  considered  by  all  Latter-day  Saints,  and  that 
is,  few  men,  possibly  none,  ever  made  an  overland  trip 
of  four  thousand  miles  over  deserts  and  through  the 
most  dangerous  country  on  the  continent  and  got  through 
without  some  little  "family  jars." 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  305 

There  had  been  attempts  made  to  explore  the  south- 
ern country  that  had  practically  failed.  President  Young 
had  expressed  confidence  in  my  ability  to  make  the  trip 
and  so  I  felt  determined  to  do  my  best. 

I  knew  that  our  little  mules  and  ponies  were  our 
dependence,  for  if  we  had  lost  them  we  might  have  per- 
ished, or  at  least  suffered  great  hardships  as  well  as  los- 
ing time.  And  more  still  I  realized  the  success  or  failure 
of  our  trip  would  have  a  great  effect  upon  others  who 
might  follow  after.     All  this  made  me  extremely  careful. 

One  fault  I  have  always  had,  and  with  all  my  expe- 
rience in  life  it  still  hangs  to  me,  that  is,  anything  that  is 
clear  to  my  understanding  to  be  right  I  naturally  think 
others  ought  to  see  the  same.  It  was  so  on  this  trip.  I 
naturally  thought  every  man  understood  as  well  as  I  did 
the  importance  of  taking  care  of  our  outfit. 

I  was  so  much  discouraged  at  the  effects  of  these 
reports  that  I  felt  as  though  I  never  wanted  to  take 
charge  of  another  mission  of  any  kind.  I  wrote  a  note 
to  President  Young,  asking  him  to  appoint  someone  else 
to  take  charge  and  I  would  go  along  as  guide  and  inter- 
preter. 

President  Young  paid  no  attention  to  my  sugges- 
tion. I  went  to  Brother  Woodruff  and  asked  him  to 
speak  to  Brother  Brigham  on  the  subject;  instead  of 
doing  which  he  told  me  I  was  wrong  to  notice  these 
reports,  and  that  all  men  who  were  called  to  do  a  good 
work  met  opposition. 

I  told  him  that  I  really  believed  it  would  be  a  mis- 
take to  put  me  in  charge  of  the  colony ;  that  I  had  been 
used  to  doing  hard  service  so  much  that  I  had  gotten  in 
the  habit  of  being  arbitrary,  and  I  was  afraid  I  would  not 
have  patience  to  act  as  a  presiding  Elder  should. 

Brother  Woodruff  said  he  believed  I  was  honest  and 
19 


306  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

sincere,  and  he  would  speak  to  Brother  Brigham  on  the 
subject. 

On  visiting  Brother  Young,  he  said  he  wanted  me 
to  go  ahead ;  that  an  angel  could  not  please  everybody. 
And  added:  "You  know  how  to  travel,  how  to  take 
care  of  teams.  You  are  better  acquainted  with  the  roads, 
the  country,  the  natives  and  their  language,  and  are  bet- 
ter prepared  to  take  charge  of  a  company  than  any  one 
I  know  of.  Go  ahead  and  do  the  best  you  can.  When 
you  get  things  started  we  can  send  some  'good'  man  to 
take  your  place,  and  you  can  go  on  and  open  up  more 
new  country.     This  is  your  mission." 

With  this  understanding  I  went  to  work  with  a  will 
to  get  ready  for  the  trip.  I  still  felt  quite  sore  about  the 
stories  circulated,  for  they  were  not  just.  But  one  thing 
I  had  to  acknowledge  that  made  me  a  little  careful  what 
I  said  to  Brother  Brigham.  He  had  warned  me  against 
one  of  the  company  who  had  volunteered  to  go.  He 
advised  me  not  to  take  him,  saying  that  he  would  try  to 
take  the  mission  away  from  me  and  would  make  me 
trouble.  This  I  should  have  listened  to ;  but  the  man 
seemed  so  earnest  and  desirous  to  go  that  I  pled  for 
him,  and  Brother  Young  finally  consented.  I  was  served 
just  right.  Brother  Brigham  spoke  truly.  Anyone 
doubting  it  can  investigate  for  themselves ;  I  have  said 
all  I  wish  to  about  the  matter. 

Brother  Brigham  said  he  wanted  volunteers ;  that 
no  one  would  be  called  unless  he  was  perfectly  will- 
ing, otherwise  rather  desired  them  not  to  go. 

The  following  names,  with  their  families,  were  soon 
enrolled  for  the  mission :  P.  C.  Merrills,  Dudley  J.  Mer- 
rills, Thos.  Merrills,  Adelbert  Merrills,  Henry  C.  Rogers, 
George  Steel,  Thomas  Biggs,  Ross  R.  Rogers,  Joseph 
McRae  and  Isaac  Turley.      Notice  was  given  that  we 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  307 

would  meet  at  St.  George  about  Christmas  and  there 
organize,  President  Young  intending  to  winter  there.  I 
had  to  work  hard  and  make  many  shifts  and  trades  to 
get  an  outfit  sufficient  to  move  my  family  in  comfort. 

I  was  a  little  late  in  starting  on  the  road.  P.  C. 
Merrills  and  his  family  overtook  us  at  Sevier  Bridge. 
We  traveled  together  to  St.  George.  On  arriving  there 
we  found  all  the  company  in  camp  in  a  school-house 
yard,  with  the  privilege  of  using  the  house  when  needed 
in  case  of  storm.  It  was  now  about  the  first  of  January 
and  the  weather  was  quite  disagreeable.  Here  a  Brother 
Williams  joined  us. 

On  looking  over  the  outfit  I  soon  found  that  many 
of  the  wagons  were  overloaded  and  that  much  of  the 
loading  being  taken  could  be  dispensed  with.  I  advised 
the  selling  off  of  such  as  old  stoves,  sewing  machines 
and  many  other  heavy  articles ;  but  no  one  seemed  to 
think  but  what  they  could  pull  their  load. 

My  loading  consisted  of  bedding,  clothing,  provi- 
sions, horse  feed  and  such  articles  as  were  absolutely 
necessary.  We  had  not  ten  pounds  of  anything  that 
could  be  dispensed  with.  I  considered  it  my  duty  to  set 
the  example,  knowing  that  we  had  a  hard  trip  before  us 
and  could  not  afford  to  haul  anything  but  the  actual 
necessities  with  the  outfit  on  hand.  I  spoke  to  Brother 
Brigham  about  the  situation. 

He  said,  ''Get  your  company  in  the  best  shape  you 
can  and  as  soon  as  possible  move  out.  There  is  a  nice 
little  settlement,  Santa  Clara,  on  your  road.  There  is  a 
beautiful  piece  of  sandy  road  from  here  to  there,  just 
such  as  will  help  you  get  the  brethren  to  see  the  impor- 
tance of  lightening  up.  When  you  get  there  you  can 
set  up  an  auction  store.  The  people  are  pretty  well  off 
and  will  be  able  to  buy  what  you  have  to  sell." 


308  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

When  all  was  ready  we  started  out,  and,  as  Presi- 
dent Young  said,  when  we  got  into  the  Santa  Clara  set- 
tlement many  of  the  company  were  not  only  willing  but 
anxious  to  lighten  up. 

The  people  of  Santa  Clara  traded  readily  for  the 
stuff,  paying  dried  fruit,  grain  and  some  money.  Some- 
times the  loading  traded  for  was  as  heavy  as  that  traded 
off.  Brother  Isaac  Turley,  who  had  traveled  a  portion  of 
the  road  and  who  was  an  experienced  traveler,  was 
elected  wagon-master.  He  advised  the  people  not  to  be 
afraid  to  trade  for  corn,  saying  that  he  was  willing  to  roll 
at  a  wheel  to  help  get  a  sack  of  corn  over  a  hard  place, 
but  did  not  like  to  strain  his  back  to  move  an  old  stove 
along  that  was  not  worth  hauling. 

At  this  place  we  bade  good-bye  to  President  Young, 
who  drove  out  to  see  us.  He  gave  us  his  blessing  and 
a  few  words  of  counsel.  This  was  the  last  time  I  ever 
saw  Brother  Brigham — to  me  the  best  and  greatest  man 
I  have  ever  known. 

Our  instructions  were  to  go  into  the  southern  coun- 
try and  settle  where  we  felt  impressed  to  stop.  The 
intention  was  to  go  on  to  Mexico  eventually. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  3O9 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

We  Locate  on  Salt  River — Letter  from  President  Young — We  Com- 
mence Work  on  our  Ditch — Hire  Indians  to  help  us — My  Associ- 
ations with  the  Red  Men. 

WE  passed  down  the  Virgin  river,  crossed  the 
Colorado  at  Stone's  Ferry,  then  through  Mineral 
Park,  Walapai  Valley,  Cottonwood,  Anvil  Rock,  Oaks 
and  Willows  and  Walnut  Creek,  leaving  Prescott  to  the 
left.  We  continued  on  the  most  direct  route  into  Salt 
River  valley. 

The  trip  was  made  without  losing  an  animal  or  suf- 
fering in  any  way  worth  mentioning ;  in  fact,  to  this  day 
many  of  the  company  speak  of  the  trip  as  one  of  pleas- 
ure rather  than  suffering.  Everything  was  under  strict 
discipline.  No  one  can  travel  safely  through  a  wild, 
dangerous  country  and  be  neglectful,  no  matter  what 
those  may  say  who  are  too  lazy  to  stand  guard  without 
grumbling. 

One  incident  of  the  trip  I  will  relate  that  might  be 
profitable  in  putting  others  -on  their  guard. 

One  day,  while  traveling  through  a  hilly,  broken 
country,  my  son  Wiley  and  Chas.  Rogers,  both  young 
lads,  took  their  guns  for  a  hunt.  It  was  cloudy;  I  warned 
them  not  to  go  far  from  the  road.  This  they  intended  to 
obey,  but  soon  after  they  left  the  train  the  road  turned 
off  to  the  right  and  changed  the  direction.  It  soon  com- 
menced to  storm  very  hard,  and  we  went  into  camp.  We 
were  now  uneasy  about  the  boys.  The  storm  was  the 
first  of  the  season — cold  and  wet,  and  the  boys  were 
without  their  coats.  I  tried  to  keep  from  showing  anxiety 
for  their  mothers'  sake ;  but  I  felt  about  as   much   con- 


3IO  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

cerned  as  I  ever  did,  for  I  knew  there  was  great  danger. 
About  night  I  went  on  to  a  high  hill,  piled  up  several 
cords  of  dried  cedars  and  set  fire  to  them.  About  9 
o'clock  we  heard  a  loud  hello.  We  knew  they  were 
coming.     They  were  almost  dead  with  fatigue. 

After  finding  they  were  lost  they  had  traveled  round 
and  round  to  keep  from  freezing  to  death.  Their 
strength  had  almost  failed  when  they  saw  the  light. 
They  had  no  matches,  but  were  trying  to  strike  fire  with 
their  guns,  when  the  light  was  visible  from  where  they 
were.  There  was  quite  a  mountain  ridge  between  them 
and  the  fire.  It  was  in  a  different  direction  from  where 
they  expected ;  it  had  barely  shown  a  dim  light  in  the 
mountain  top. 

Wiley  said,  "That's  pa!"  and  started  for  the  fire. 
This  saved  them. 

On  arriving  at  Salt  river  it  became  plain  to  see  that 
we  were  not  in  a  condition  to  go  further,  and,  as  every- 
thing seemed  inviting  to  us  to  stop  here,  we  took  a  vote 
on  the  question  of  continuing.  All  voted  to  locate  on 
Salt  river,  except  one  man. 

We  made  camp  where  Mr.  Miller  had  directed  me 
to  the  ditch  site.  Next  morning  we  commenced  work  on 
the  head  of  the  ditch.  Ross  R.  Rogers  began  surveying 
the  ditch  with  a  straight-edge  and  spirit-level. 

We  had  been  to  work  but  a  few  hours,  when  a  party 
came  and  claimed  that  we  were  on  a  ditch  site  already 
staked  and  owned.     Mr.  Miller  had  posted  me  on  this. 

The  survey  had  been  made  and  stakes  set,  but  suffi- 
cient work  had  not  been  done  to  hold  the  right  of  way. 
So  I  told  the  gentleman  in  charge  of  the  party  that  we 
would  not  interfere  with  his  survey ;  that  we  had  noticed 
his  stakes  and  would  not  disturb  them.  He  finally 
offered  to  sell  us  the  right  of  way. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  3 II 

I  told  him  we  were  not  prepared  to  buy,  but  would 
try  and  be  careful  not  to  interfere  with  his  rights.  The 
party  left  and  we  heard  no  more  from  them. 

We  arranged  affairs  to  the  best  advantage  possible, 
according  to  the  wisdom  we  had,  and  went  to  work  on 
what  was  registered  and  is  known  as  the  Utah  ditch. 

On  reporting  to  President  Young,  the  following 
letter  was  received : 

''Salt  Lake  City,  U.  T. 
''Elder  D.   W.  Jones,  Camp  Utah,  Arizona. 

"Dear  Brother: — On  my  return  from  Ogden,  last 
evening,  I  found  your  note  awaiting  me.  The  brethren 
who  have  been  called  to  go  to  Arizona  reside  in  various 
parts  of  this  territory.  They  will  start  as  they  get  ready 
and  come  dropping  in  upon  you  from  time  to  time,  with- 
out any  special  instructions  from  the  Presidency  of  the 
Church,  only  to  commence  their  labors  at  as  early  a  date 
as  they  reasonably  can.  For  this  reason  we  cannot  say 
anything  about  making  arrangements  beforehand  for 
their  flour ;  but  they  will  have  to  do  as  we  have  done 
before — get  it  as  best  they  may  after  their  arrival. 

**  We  should  be  pleased  to  learn  from  you  how  far 
you  consider  it  from  your  camp  to  the  settlements  on 
the  Little  Colorado  river,  and  which  road  you  deem  the 
best  thereto.  We  should  also  like  to  know  what  your 
intentions  are  with  regard  to  settling  the  region  for 
which  you  originally  started.  We  do  not  deem  it  prudent 
for  you  to  break  up  your  present  location,  but  possibly 
next  fall  you  will  find  it  consistent  to  continue  your 
journey  with  a  portion  of  those  who  are  now  with  you, 
while  others  will  come  and  occupy  the  places  vacated  by 
you. 

'*We   do  not,  however,  wish  you  to  get   the  idea 


312  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

from  the  above  remarks  that  we  desire  to  hurry  you 
away  from  where  you  now  are,  or  to  force  a  settlement 
in  the  district  to  which  you  refer,  until  it  is  safe  to  do  so 
and  free  from  the  dangers  of  Indian  difficulties;  but  we 
regard  it  as  one  of  the  spots  where  the  Saints  will, 
sooner  or  later,  gather  to  build  up  Zion,  and  we  feel  the 
sooner  the  better. 

"Last  evening  I  returned  from  Cache  valley,  where 
I  had  been  resting  a  few  days.  Tomorrow  myself  and 
party  start  for  Juab  and  Sanpete  counties  to  organize  a 
Stake  of  Zion  there,  while  Brothers  Lorenzo  Snow  and 
Franklin  D.  Richards  will  go  to  Morgan  and  Summit 
counties  and  organize  there. 

"We  have  thus  to  divide  or  we  should  not  get 
through  with  the  organization  of  the  Stakes  in  time  to 
commence  the  quarterly  conferences  in  those  that  were 
first  organized. 

"We  have  no  special  counsel  to  give  you  or  your 
company  at  present,  only  to  live  so  as  to  retain  within 
you  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  that  it  may  be  to  you  a 
present  helper  in  every  time  of  need,  and  a  guide  that 
can  be  called  upon  on  all  occasions.  Be  prudent  in  all 
the  measures  you  enter  into;  economical  with  your  time 
and  supplies;  be  just  one  towards  another,  and  kind  and 
friendly  with  all  men;  do  your  utmost  by  precept  and 
example  to  win  the  hearts  of  the  Lamanites,  and  ever 
use  the  influence  you  acquire  over  them  for  good,  for 
their  salvation  and  education  in  the  arts  of  peace  and 
industry.  In  this  course  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  will  be 
with  you,  and  you  shall  be  established  in  peace,  and 
prosperity  shall  attend  your  efforts  to  build  up  God's 
kingdom.  That  this  may  be  so  is  the  prayer  of 
"Your  brother  in  the  Gospel, 

"Brigham  Young." 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  3I3 

We  commenced  on  the  ditch  March  7th,  1877.  All 
hands  worked  with  a  will.  Part  of  the  company  moved 
down  on  to  lands  located  for  settlements.  Most  of  the 
able-bodied  men  formed  a  working  camp  near  the  head 
of  the  ditch,  where  a  deep  cut  had  to  be  made. 

We  hired  considerable  help  when  we  could  procure 
it  for  such  pay  as  we  could  command,  as  scrub  ponies, 
''Hayden  scrip,"  etc.  Among  those  employed  were  a 
number  of  Indians,  Pimas,  Maricopas,  Papagoes,  Yumas. 
Yaquis  and  one  or  two  Apaches  Mojaves.  The  most  of 
them  were  good  workers. 

Some  of  these  Indians  expressed  a  desire  to  come 
and  settle  with  us;  this  was  the  most  interesting  part  of 
the  mission  to  me  and  I  naturally  supposed  that  all  the 
company  felt  the  same  spirit,  but  I  soon  found  my 
mistake,  for  on  making  this  desire  of  the  Indians  known 
to  the  company  many  objected,  some  saying  that  they 
did  not  want  their  families  brought  into  association  with 
these  dirty  Indians.  So  little  interest  was  manifested  by 
the  company  that  I  made  the  mistake  of  jumping  at  the 
conclusion  that  I  would  have  to  go  ahead  whether  I  was 
backed  up  or  not;  I  learned  afterwards  that  if  I  had  been 
more  patient  and  faithful  that  I  would  have  had  more 
help,  but  at  the  time  I  acted  according  to  the  best  light  I 
had  and  determined  to  stick  to  the  Indians. 

This  spirit  manifested  to  the  company  showing  a 
preference  to  the  natives,  naturally  created  a  prejudice 
against  me.  Soon  dissatisfaction  commenced  to  show. 
The  result  was  that  most  of  the  company  left  and  went 
onto  the  San  Pedro  in  southern  Arizona,  led  by  P.  C. 
Merrill.  After  this  move,  there  being  but  four  families 
left,  and  one  of  these  soon  leaving,  our  little  colony  was 
quite  weak. 

The  three  families   remaining  with  me  professed  to 


314  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

sustain  my  management  for  a  little  season.  Then  they 
turned  more  bitter  against  me  than  those  who  went 
away;  no  doubt  but  they  felt  justified  in  their  own  feel- 
ings, and,  as  I  am  writing  my  own  history  and  not  theirs, 
I  will  allow  them  the  same  privilege. 

It  was  not  long  until  it  became  manifest  that  I  would 
have  to  either  give  up  the  Indians  or  lose  my  standing 
with  the  white  brethren.  I  chose  the  natives,  and  will 
now  give  as  truthful  a  history  of  my  labors  among  them 
as  my  memory  will  serve. 

In  about  six  weeks  from  the  time  we  commenced 
we  had  sufficient  water  out  to  plant  some  garden  stuff 
and  a  few  acres  of  corn.  When  this  was  done  Brother 
Turley  took  a  number  of  teams  and  went  to  freighting 
for  Mr.  Hayden  to  pay  the  debt  we  had  now  made — 
some  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  This  debt  could  soon  have 
been  paid  if  all  hands  had  stayed  together,  but  as  the 
most  left,  the  debt  finally  fell  upon  me  to  finish  paying  up. 

This  tied  me  up  on  Salt  river  for  some  time. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  315 


CHAPTER   XLVII. 

Deceit  of  my  Interpreter — Indians  Apply  for  Baptism — Some  True- 
hearted  Natives  Receive  the  Ordinance — Help  Given  on  our 
Ditch  by  the  Pimas  and  Maricopas — The  U.  S.  Agent  Forbids 
my  Interfering  with  the  Indians. 

AS  often  as  opportunity  offered  I  talked  to  the 
Indians.  As  yet  I  had  not  found  an  interpreter  that 
suited  me ;  several  whom  I  had  met  the  year  before  had 
not  come  to  our  camp  yet,  their  homes  being  some  dis- 
tance away.  The  interpreter  I  used,  Geo.  Roberts,  was 
something  of  an  adventurer,  as  the  sequel  will  show. 

I  was  at  work  one  day  in  a  field,  planting,  after  we 
had  been  settled  for  some  six  weeks,  when  my  interpre- 
ter came  to  me  and  said  there  were  several  of  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  Salt  river  Pimas  who  wished  me  to  come 
down  to  my  camp,  where  they  were,  and  baptize  them. 

I  told  him  I  did  not  think  the  Indians  understood 
enough  to  be  baptized ;  that  I  had  not  had  time  to  teach 
them  sufficiently.  He  said  I  had  talked  a  great  deal  to 
him ;  that  he  understood  and  believed  all  I  said,  and  fully 
explained  all  my  words  to  these  capitancillos  (little  cap- 
tains), who  also  believed  and  wished  baptism. 

I  did  not  feel  satisfied.  I  have  always  been  slow  to 
baptize  natives ;  my  policy  has  been  to  teach  them  first, 
so  that  they  would  fully  realize  what  they  were  doing.  I 
have  endeavored  more  to  get  them  out  of  their  degrada- 
tion and  savagery. 

When  I  met  these  Indians  I  asked  them  (using  the 
interpreter)  what  they  desired.  They  said  they  wished 
to  be  baptized  and  be  Mormons.  I  told  the  interpreter 
to  say  to  them  that  I  did  not  want  them  to  be  baptized 
until   they   fully  understood  what  baptism   was   for.      I 


3l6  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

continued  talking,  explaining  what  the  requirements 
were,  etc. 

The  interpreter  insisted,  after  talking  quite  a  while 
with  the  chiefs,  that  they  fully  understood  me  and  were 
ready.  I  then  told  him  to  say  to  them:  ''Go  back  to 
your  camp;  talk  with  your  head  chief  and  your  people, 
and  explain  these  things.  Take  time  to  reconsider  and 
do  not  be  in  a  hurry  to  get  baptized." 

A  few  days  after  this  my  interpreter  again  came  to 
me  and  said  many  hundred  Indians  had  come  to  my 
camp  (I  was  again  at  work  away  from  home),  all  ready 
and  wanting  to  be  baptized. 

I  was  now  sorely  puzzled,  for  there  was  nothing  in 
reason  to  convince  me  that  these  ignorant  natives  were 
really  subject  to  such  sudden  conversion.  Still,  I  knew 
that  our  people  looked  forward  to  a  time  when  a  nation 
will  be  born  in  a  day,  but  I  did  not  believe  that  time  had 
come ;  yet  it  looked  a  little  that  way,  so  I  went  down. 

On  arriving  at  camp  there  were  Indians  in  every 
place  and  direction  ;  there  were  between  three  and  four 
hundred,  all  looking  pleasant  and  smiling.  The  chiefs 
were  grouped,  sitting  quietly  and  sedately. 

I  commenced  to  talk  to  and  question  them,  repeat- 
ing what  I  had  formerly  said  and  added  more,  and  in 
every  way  endeavored  to  fasten  upon  their  minds  the 
responsibility  of  being  baptized.  I  really  desired  to 
deter  them,  if  possible,  for  I  had  no  faith  in  the  reality  of 
the  situation.  But  my  interpreter,  who  talked  at  length 
to  them,  professing  to  explain  all  my  words,  insisted  that 
they  fully  understood  and  wanted  to  be  baptized — the 
whole  tribe  included. 

Several  Elders  were  present,  and  I  asked,  "What 
shall  I  do?  I  have  no  faith  in  this.  There  is  something 
wrong." 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  317 

All  said  I  had  done  my  duty ;  if  they  insisted,  all  we 
could  do  was  to  baptize  them,  as  we  had  no  right  to 
refuse. 

I  told  the  Indians  all  right — we  would  go  to  the 
river.  At  this  all  hands  started  pell-mell,  the  young  ones 
laughing  and  playing,  the  older  ones  more  sedate. 

As  I  started  to  the  river  I  observed  a  strange  Indian 
looking  intently  at  me.  He  was  dressed  differently  from 
the  rest.     I  asked  him  if  he  understood  Spanish. 

He  answered,  "Yes,  perfectly." 

''Have  you  heard  and  understood  the  talk  with  the 
Pimas?" 

''Yes,  sir;  and  the  Indians  are  deceived.  Your 
interpreter  is  either  dishonest  or  does  not  understand 
you ;  I  hardly  know  which,  but  I  think  it  is  a  little  of 
both.  He  talks  considerable  Spanish,  but  he  has  not 
fully  understood  you.  I  fully  understand  and  want  ta 
help  you." 

"Will  you  go  with  me  now? — and  I  will  again  talk 
to  them." 

"Yes." 

On  the  way  to  the  river  my  new  friend  informed  me 
that  the  main  inducement  offered  for  baptism  by  my 
interpreter  was,  that  to  all  who  would  be  baptized  I 
would  give  a  new  shirt;  and  to  the  men  of  families  who 
had  no  land  I  would  give  lands.  So  it  was  no  wonder 
at  the  number  of  converts. 

When  we  got  to  the  river  bank  I  called  the  principal 
men  together  and  taught  them  for  a  long  time,  fully 
explaining  the  true  situation  and  requirements.  The  old 
chief,  Chiacum,  said  he  thought  I  must  have  lots  of  shirts 
and  had  looked  around  wondering  where  all  my  land 
was.     My  interpreter  looked  rather  "sheepish." 

When  all  was  explained  the  old  chief  said  he  did  not 


3l8  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

fully  understand  all  I  had  said,  but  one  thing  he  under- 
stood and  was  willing  to  try — that  baptism  required  one 
to  be  a  better  man.  Said  he,  "I  am  willing  to  be 
baptized  and  listen  to  your  talk,  for  I  believe  it  is  good. 
I  will  seek  to  be  a  better  man  and  try  to  learn  more 
about  God.  Now  here  are  three  of  us  who  are  willing 
to  do  this;  if  this  will  do  you  can  baptize  us,  we  do  not  want 
any  shirts;  we  will  then  try  to  learn  and  teach  your  words 
to  our  people,  and  when  they  are  ready  we  will  tell  you 
and  you  can  baptize  them. 

I  now  felt  satisfied  and  baptized  the  old  chief  and  the 
ones  he  named,  feeling  a  real  joy  for  I  knew  they  were 
honest.  This  deception  of  my  first  interpreter  had  its 
effect  that  reaches  far  into  the  future.  Believing  on  the 
start  that  he  would  be  useful  to  me,  I  had  given  him  a 
piece  of  land  near  by  camp,  where  he  had  been  doing  a 
little  work. 

I  now  felt  so  disappointed  in  him  that  I  wished  to 
get  rid  of  him.  He  said  if  he  got  his  pay  for  the  land  he 
would  leave.  This  he  received  in  full,  and  I  thought  I 
would  hear  no  more  of  him.  In  this,  too,  I  was  disap- 
pointed. 

Often  during  the  spring  and  summer  natives  visited 
our  camp  enquiring  about  our  people  and  principles.  I 
heard  that  the  "shirt  and  land"  story  had  reached  quite  a 
distance. 

One  party  of  Maricopas,  fourteen  in  number,  headed 
by  an  old  chief,  Malia,  came  to  see  us.  They  were  very 
poor  and  destitute,  but  seemed  more  intelligent  than  the 
average.  I  was  very  busy,  being  obliged  to  go  away 
from  camp.  The  old  chief  said  they  were  willing  to  help 
me,  and  insisted  that  I  would  show  them  some  work  to 
do,  saying  they  would  remain  and  work  until  I  had  time 
to  talk  to  them.     This  old  fellow  talked  good  Spanish. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  319 

I  showed  them  a  piece  of  land  that  we  desired  to 
plant  in  corn.  They  went  to  work  and  cleared  the  brush 
from  it.  I  afterwards  gave  this  same  land  to  these 
Indians. 

When  Brother  Merrills  left,  our  ditch  was  not  nearly 
finished.  In  fact  it  was  simply  commenced,  and  we  who 
were  left  were  almost  destitute  and  heavily  in  debt. 

Some  of  the  same  Indians  we  had  employed  offered 
to  take  hold  and  help  us  finish  up  the  ditch  if  we  would 
let  them  have  some  land  lying  along  the  river  bottom. 
The  land  was  sandy  and  broken  with  hills  and  hollows, 
and  there  was  considerable  brush  on  it.  It  was  a  kind 
of  land  the  whites  did  not  desire  but  the  very  kind  the 
Indians  preferred.  I  agreed  to  let  them  have  this 
privilege. 

The  first  who  came  were  the  same  party  under 
Malia  (Maricopas),  who  worked  clearing  off  land.  I 
gave  them  the  eastern  portion  of  the  land.  Francisco 
Chico  Ochoa,  a  Pima,  came  well  recommended  as  a  good, 
honest  man.  He  agreed  to  keep  me  posted  in  regard 
to  the  character  of  those  applying  for  lands.  The  Pimas 
were  to  have  the  western  portion  of  the  lands. 

The  agreement  was  that  no  Indians  would  be 
allowed  to  remain  on  these  lands  except  those  who  would 
observe  good  order,  live  honest,  sober,  etc.,  and  work  for 
their  own  living,  and  in  no  way  molest  the  settlers. 

I  talked  with  Mr.  Hayden  and  some  others  about 
my  plans.  They  said  the  Indians  were  generally  well- 
disposed,  and  that  years  before  the  whites  had  invited 
quite  a  colony  of  Pimas  to  leave  the  Gila  and  come  and 
settle  on  Salt  river,  as  a  kind  of  outpost  or  guard  against 
the  Apaches.  This  had  been  a  success.  "But,"  said 
Mr.  Hayden,  *'as  the  country  builds  up  and  these  Indians 
are  not  needed,  you  will   doubtless  see  some  of  these 


320  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

same  men  who  invited  them  here  join  in  to  drive  them 
away.  You,  no  doubt,  will  have  trouble  with  your 
Indians  in  time." 

I  was  deeply  interested  in  these  natives,  and  felt 
determined  to  do  all  I  could  for  them  ;  in  fact,  it  was 
Indian  or  nothing  if  we  finished  our  ditch  in  time  to  do 
anything  the  following  season.  So  I  divided  off  the  land 
between  the  Pimas  and  Maricopas,  leaving  the  chiefs  to 
divide  the  lands  among  their  people. 

They  soon  went  to  work  enlarging  the  ditch. 
These  natives  were  of  the  poorer  class,  having  been  liv- 
ing in  settlements  where  the  water  had  been  shut  off 
from  them.  They  had  been  living  for  years  in  poverty 
and  degradation.  Their  association  with  white  men  had 
only  degraded  them  the  more,  and  they  were  dwindling 
away  and  numbering  less  and  less  every  year;  so  when 
they  had  the  privilege  of  taking  hold  with  us  they  were 
truly  grateful. 

When  they  commenced  to  move,  some  thirty  odd 
miles,  my  son  Wiley  took  his  team  and  hauled  their  stuff 
for  them.  The  squaws  appreciated  this,  as  most  every- 
thing would  have  been  carried  on  their  heads ;  many  a 
time  they  would  pack  from  seventy-five  to  a  hundred 
pounds.  Some  may  ask,  *Tf  these  Indians  were  so  desti- 
tute, what  was  there  to  move?"  I  will  see  if  I  can  think 
what  there  was.  I  remember  well  there  was  an  eight- 
mule  load  for  the  Maricopas. 

Without  giving  the  number  and  pounds,  I  will  name 
some  of  the  principal  articles.  There  were  earthen 
water  jars  and  cooking  utensils ;  baskets  and  more  bas- 
kets ;  dogs — too  poor  to  make  it  afoot ;  Mosquite  beans  ; 
old  rawhides,  metats,  primitive  hand-mills;  a  few  old 
shovels,  hoes,  axes,  wooden  plows,  etc.  These  were 
about  the  average  outfit  of  an  Indian  household.     They 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  32 1 

were  about  destitute  of  provisions.  I  went  and  made 
arrangements   with   Mr.   Hayden   for  their  bread   stuff. 

The  ditch  was  enlarged,  during  the  fall  and  winter, 
so  that  there  were  several  hundred  acres  of  grain  sowed 
by  ourselves  and  Indians.  I  helped  many  of  the  Indians 
get  their  seed  grain,  and  some  of  them  borrowed  from 
their  more  prosperous  friends ;  they  also  got  cattle  to 
plow  their  fields  from  the  Indians  on  the  Gila. 

As  these  people  began  to  prosper,  others  came  and 
wished  to  join  in  and  continue  to  enlarge  the  ditch,  and 
clear  off  and  level  down  the  broken  lands.  Sometimes 
the  stock,  belonging  to  the  Indians  living  on  their  own 
lands  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  our  camp, 
would  encroach  on  our  fields.  This  was  extremely 
annoying  and  many  of  the  whites  were  sorely  tried. 

I  was  continually  working  to  get  a  right  understand- 
ing established. 

The  Indians  claimed  that  no  one  had  a  right  to 
occupy  more  country  than  they  could  fence  or  guard, 
and  said  that  the  people  owning  the  fields  were  the  ones 
to  take  care  of  them  and  watch  the  cattle. 

Some  of  the  settlers  accepted  the  situation,  and 
when  the  Indian  stock  would  get  onto  their  grain  fields 
they  would  shoot  them  down.  This  rather  got  away 
with  the  Indians  yet  they  would  not  get  mad  but  would 
take  the  carcasses  for  food. 

Owing  to  this  trouble  many  of  the  white  settlers 
became  opposed  to  the  Indians  remaining  longer  on  Salt 
river,  so  petitions  were  circulated  and  signed  asking 
the  government  to  remove  them. 

The  agent  visited  me  one  day  while  I  was  working 
on  the  ditch,  with  some  forty  Indians  helping.  He 
accosted  me  in  a  very  uncivil  tone  and  manner  and 
wanted   to  know  what  I  was  doing  with  his   Indians.     I 


32  2  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

said  I  was  not  aware  that  he  owned  these  people.  He 
said  he  was  the  U.  S.  agent  from  Sacaton;  that  he  had 
heard  that  I  was  teaching  these  Indians  Mormonism,  and 
inducing  them  to  leave  the  agency,  and  that  he  wanted 
the  business  stopped. 

I  told  him  it  was  none  of  his  business  what  I  was 
doing  with  the  Indians;  asked  him  if  he  knew  what  Mor- 
monism was.    He  said  he  did  not  know  anything  about  it. 

*'  Then  you  had  better  wait  until  you  do  before  com- 
manding me  to  quit  teaching  it.  I  teach  them  to  quit 
stealing,  gambling,  getting  drunk  and  practicing  other 
and  worse  vices;  and  to  be  cleanly  and  industrious;  and 
advised  them  to  earn  their  own  living;  and  get  ready  to 
educate  their  young  people;  to  quit  killing- witches;  burn- 
ing their  dead,  etc.     How  does  that  suit  you  ?  " 

''O  that  is  all  right." 

"Well,  sir,  that  is  a  part  of  Mormonism." 

He  seemed  a  little  ''stumped,"  then  said,  "Well,  if  I 
hear  of  any  trouble,  I  shall  forbid  you  employing  these 
Indians." 

I  here  showed  him  a  letter  that  I  had  received  from 
him  when  we  first  came  in,  asking  me  to  give  employment 
to  a  party  of  Indians,  saying  that  they  were  good  men  and 
willing  to  work,  but  had  no  means  of  support,  and  that 
anything  I  could  do  for  them  would  be  appreciated. 

I  called  his  attention  to  what  I  had  done  for  this 
people,  according  to  his  request,  and  asked  him  if  he 
would  like  a  copy  of  the  letter  sent  to  Washington.  I 
never  heard  any  more  complaint  from  the  agent. 

The  Indians  that  I  had  taken  in  to  help  on  the  ditch 
had  but  little  stock  and  had  agreed  to  take  care  of  it, 
which  they  generally  did.  But  visitors  would  come  to 
see  them  and  would  sometimes  be  careless. 

But  the  greatest  trouble  we  had  was  with  some  five 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  323 

hundred  PImas  who  were  settled  about  five  miles  from 
us,  that  we  had  no  particular  control  over,  they  having 
settled  there  before  our  arrival. 

I,  in  common  with  others,  was  much  annoyed  by 
their  cattle,  but  desiring  peace  I  studied  how  to  out- 
general these  cattle.  I  had  also  studied  very  hard  to  get 
an  insight  into  the  Indian  character  and  ways,  and  was  on 
the  watch  for  an  opportunity. 

The  old  chief  whom  I  had  baptized  had  some  twenty 
head  of  work  cattle  belonging  to  his  family  and  particular 
friends.  They  had  come  onto  my  fields  several  times. 
The  old  man  always  said  it  was  his  boy's  fault,  and 
seemed  to  regret  it,  sometimes  paying  a  few  sacks  of 
wheat  for  damages.  I  told  him  that  paying  damages 
was  a  bad  thing.  It  was  loss  to  him  and  no  gain  to  me, 
that  I  wanted  the  cattle  kept  off 

Finally  an  idea  struck  me.  The  cattle  had  damaged 
my  crops  a  number  of  times.  One  day  when  I  found 
them  in  my  field  I  sent  them  to  the  chief  with  word  that 
if  they  got  on  my  field  three  times  more  that  they  would 
be  mine,  and  that  I  would  put  my  brand  on  them. 

Soon  the  old  man  came  over  to  see  me,  bringing  a 
good  interpreter.     Said  he  : 

'T  do  not  understand  what  you  say  about  branding 
my  cattle." 

Here  I  took  a  memorandum  book  from  my  pocket 
and  commenced  figuring.  I  explained  to  him  that  the 
cattle  had  been  on  my  field  and  damaged  me  to  an 
amount  almost  as  much  as  the  cattle  were  worth,  and 
that  three  times  more  damaging  would  pay  for  the  cattle 
when  I  would  have  a  right  to  put  my  brand  on  them, 
having  paid  their  full  value. 

I  talked  pleasantly  and  kindly,  admitting  that  he  was 
a  good   man   and  wanted  to  do  right,  but  his   boys  were 


324  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

bad  and  careless.  I  said  I  would  loan  them  the  cattle  for 
a  while  as  I  did  not  need  them,  but  would  let  him  know 
when  I  wanted  them. 

The  old  man  was  puzzled,  he  did  not  know  what  to 
say  or  do.  At  length,  after  sitting  and  studying  a  while, 
he  said  :  "Suppose  the  cattle  never  get  onto  your  land 
again;  how  will  it  be  then  ?" 

I  then  showed  him  my  book  and  explained  to  him 
that  some  accounts  were  in  pencil  and  some  in  pen  and 
ink;  that  his  was  still  in  pencil  and  if  left  that  way  would 
wear  out  after  a  time,  but  sometimes  it  lasted  two  or 
three  years,  and  that  if  he  would  keep  his  cattle  away  for 
a  long  time  I  would  not  write  with  ink  and  maybe  the 
pencil  marks  would  all  wear  out. 

He  seemed  pleased  at  this,  saying  that  the  cattle 
should  not  get  back  any  more,  and  the  account  would  be 
sure  to  wear  out  before  they  came  back. 

I  now  gave  the  old  man  a  piece  of  ground  on  our 
side  near  the  crossing  of  the  river.  He  said  he  would 
live  there  and  watch  the  cattle  himself  and  not  let  them 
cross.  This  was  the  land  I  had  formerly  given  to  my  first 
interpreter  who  had  deceived  me  so.  This  same  fellow 
came  afterwards  and  claimed  the  land.  He  was  a  Mari- 
copa. This  was  on  the  end  of  the  land  I  had  given  to 
the  Pimas.  I  explained  this  to  him.  Although  I  con- 
sidered there  was  nothing  due  to  the  man,  I  offered  him 
land  up  among  his  own  people.  This  he  declined,  but 
claimed  the  first  piece. 

I  told  him  I  had  paid  him  for  the  land  .  He  said  I 
had  not  paid  him  for  the  land  but  for  the  work  done  on 
it;  that  the  land  was  his.  I  finally  told  him  to  leave  and 
bother  me  no  more;  that  he  was  dishonest  and  I  did  not 
want  to  see  him  till  he  was  a  better  man. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  325 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

I  am  Accused  of  Conniving  with  the  Indians  to  Steal — My  Arrest — 
Investigation  and  Discharge — The  Fate  of  Witches  among  the 
Natives — I  Interfere  to  Prevent  their  Murder — Captain  Norval's 
Threat — His  Mistake. 

MORE  white  people  were  coming  into  the  valley  all 
the  time  to  settle,  and  a  deep  prejudice  against 
the  Indians  was  soon  developed.  I  was  accused  of  being 
in  collusion  with  them  in  running  off  the  settlers'  stock 
so  as  to  get  a  reward  for  returning  it. 

This  charge  was  presented  to  the  agent  at  the  Gila 
agency  and  from  him  it  was  sent  to  the  military  com- 
mander at  Camp  McDowell. 

There  had  been  many  accusations  against  the 
Indians  and  myself  before  this,  but  nothing  in  a  formal 
way.  This  time  notice  had  to  be  taken,  so  Capt.  Sum- 
merhays  with  a  posse  of  soldiers  came  to  my  ranch.  I 
had  often  been  to  the  camp  and  had  talked  to  the  officers 
about  my  affairs  with  the  Indians.  There  was,  from  the 
first,  a  disposition  of  honor  manifested  by  the  military 
toward  my  labors. 

The  posse  arrived  about  sundown.  The  captain 
came  in,  opened  some  papers  and  said  his  orders  were  to 
arrest  me  for  being  in  with  the  Indians  in  stealing  stock, 
and  asked  if  I  could  prove  myself  clear. 

I  told  him  I  did  not  intend  to  try  to  prove  my  inno- 
cence, but  would  help  him  to  prove  my  guilt  if  possible, 
for  if  guilty  I  wanted  to  find  it  out  and  quit  it. 

This  rather  pleased  the  captain  who  laughingly 
said:  "Well  you  are  a  prisoner,  but  I  will  trust  you  not 
to  run  away." 


326  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Next  morning  we  went  out  to  see  what  evidence 
could  be  found.  We  first  visited  the  Indians  and  heard 
their  story.  They  said  that  the  whites  who  were  coming 
into  the  country  were  careless  about  their  stock  and  it 
often  strayed  off  a  long  ways.  Some  of  the  owners  had 
offered  to  pay  them  for  hunting  it  up.  When  they 
brought  the  stock  some  paid  them,  while  others  who 
were  bad  men  would  abuse  them  and  tell  them  they  had 
driven  .  the  stock  away  on  purpose  to  receive  a  reward 
for  finding  it.  They  said  Captain  Jones  always  told  them 
to  be  honest  with  everybody  and  had  forbidden  any 
Indians  to  come  to  his  place  unless  they  would  do  right. 

The  Indians  were  very  earnest  in  their  talk,  saying 
they  had  been  friends  to  the  people  that  had  come  in, 
and  that  it  was  bad  to  be  accused  so  unjustly,  and  said 
they  would  not  hunt  any  more  stock. 

The  captain  told  them  that  would  be  wrong  as  the 
people  were  poor  and  did  not  know  the  range. 

One  Indian,  Valensuela,  spoke  up  and  said:  "  Well,  I 
will  teach  these  people  better.  I  will  go  and  get  their 
stock  and  give  it  to  them,  and  I  won't  take  a  cent  if  they 
offer  it  to  me." 

The  spirit  and  manner  of  the  Indians  convinced  the 
captain  that  they  had  been  wrongfully  accused.  From 
the  Indian  camp  we  went  to  where  the  greater  portion  of 
my  accusers  were  at  work  on  a  ditch. 

The  captain  called  the  attention  of  the  crowd  and 
made  known  his  business  by  saying,  ''Mr.  Jones  has 
been  accused  of  causing  the  Indians  to  run  off  your 
stock.  Do  any  of  you  know  anything  about  the 
charge  ?  " 

No  one  answered  against  me.  Some  said  they  did 
not  think  I  had  done  anything  of  the  kind.  We  were 
now  some  three   miles  from    my  ranch.      The    captain 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  327 

drove  back  to  the  road  and  offered  to  take  me  home, 
saying  he  had  got  through. 

I  asked  him  what  he  was  going  to  do  with  his 
prisoner.  He  offered  to  give  me  a  letter  to  pubHsh 
clearing  me  from  all  the  charges.  I  told  him  I  had 
become  so  used  to  such  things  that  I  cared  but  little 
about  them.  He  replied  that  it  was  a  good  thing  for  a 
man  in  my  situation  not  to  be  too  "thin  skinned." 

Through  this  affair  I  got  on  record  at  the  Post  as 
reliable,  and  ever  afterwards  my  word  was  taken  in 
preference  to  any  reports  against  me. 

I  was  kept  tolerably  busy  watching  and  defending 
the  rights  of  the  Indians;  also  in  trying  to  correct  evils 
existing  among  the  natives.  One  thing  that  taxed  all 
my  ability  was  to  break  up  witchcraft,  their  main  super- 
stition. 

Both  Maricopas  and  Pimas  fully  believed  that  all 
sickness  and  calamities  of  any  kind  were  caused  by 
witches.  Their  witch  doctors  claim  the  power  to  divine 
who  the  witches  are.  When  this  is  done  all  hands  turn 
out  with  clubs  and  stones  and  kill  the  poor  wretch 
pointed  out.  Whenever  there  is  much  sickness  among 
them  some  one  has  to  die  as  a  witch.  This  I  had 
endeavored  to  check  by  teaching  them  better,  but  I  soon 
learned  that  my  teaching  had  not  reached  the  desire,  as 
witches  were  killed  among  those  settling  with  us  of  the 
Maricopas. 

I  went  to  their  camp  and  told  old  Malia,  who  was 
quite  intelligent  in  many  respects,  that  if  such  an  act 
occurred  again  that  I  would  deliver  them  to  the  law  to 
be  dealt  with  as  murderers.  At  the  same  time  explain- 
ing to  his  people  the  general  laws  of  health,  showing 
them  that  the  violation  of  natural  laws  produced  sickness. 

Some  time  after  this  a  Maricopa  woman  came  and 


328  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

told  my  wife  that  the  Maricopas  had  decided  to  kill  me ; 
that  the  witches  were  killing  their  children  and  that  I 
would  not  allow  them  to  kill  the  witches.  So  the  only 
way  to  protect  the  lives  of  their  children  would  be  to  kill 
me,  as  I  was  a  friend  of  the  witches. 

When  I  came  home  my  wife  told  me  of  this  threat. 
She  seemed  a  little  concerned  for  my  welfare,  but  her 
faith  was  always  with  mine ;  so  we  decided  that  it  would 
be  best  for  me  to  go  at  once  and  put  a  stop  to  this 
feeling. 

I  got  on  my  horse  and  went  alone  some  three  miles 
to  their  camp.  Most  of  the  Indians  were  gathered 
together.  As  I  approached  none  spoke ;  all  were  sullen. 
This  confirmed  to  me  the  truth  of  the  squaw's  report,  as 
the  Indians  generally  met  me  in  a  friendly  manner. 

I  went  directly  to  the  subject;  told  them  what  I  had 
heard,  saying  to  them  that  I  had  no  fears  of  their  killing 
me  and  that  there  was  no  use  for  them  to  entertain  any 
such  feeling  towards  me,  for  I  was  their  friend  and  teach- 
ing them  the  truth,  and  that  God  would  protect  me.  I 
again  talked  to  them  a  long  time  and  finally  seemed  to 
gain  some  influence. 

The  Pimas  had  also  been  guilty  of  the  same  prac- 
tice. When  I  heard  of  this  I  took  a  good  interpreter 
and  went  to  their  camp,  which  was  across  the  river 
among  the  old  settlers  not  of  our  colonizers. 

I  had  to  labor  long  and  hard  before  getting  any  sat- 
isfactory results.  The  old  chief  acknowledged  that  they  had 
killed  one  witch  and  hed  almost  killed  another,  who  had 
recovered,  and  that  they  were  then  doctoring  him  to  cure 
him,  so  that  all  hands  could  turn  out  and  "kill  him 
better." 

I  asked  how  they  knew  these  men  were  witches. 
The  answer  was  that  the  ''doctor"  had  pointed  them  out. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  329 

I  asked  to  see  this  ''doctor."  This  was  declined.  I 
insisted,  telling  the  chief  that  I  would  neither  befriend 
him  nor  his  people,  nor  talk  to  them  about  anything  more 
until  this  ''doctor"  was  shown  me. 

This  the  old  fellow  did  not  like ;  for  I  had  done 
them  much  good  already,  and  was  continually  watching 
and  protecting  their  interests.  They  all  knew  this  and 
apprciated  the  same. 

Numbers  of  the  old  men  gathered  around,  chatting 
together.  I  continued  to  repeat  my  request  to  see  the 
"doctor."  Finally,  he  was  brought  out.  I  managed, 
after  talking  a  long  time,  to  really  convince  these  Indians 
that  it  was  wrong  to  believe  in  witches  or,  at  least,  to  kill 
them.  They  agreed  to  quit  the  practice  and  I  had  rea- 
son to  believe  that  they  were  partially  converted,  at  least, 
for  the  poor  fellow,  who  had  been  almost  killed,  came  to 
my  ranch  a  few  weeks  after  this.  He  was  terribly 
banged  up ;  but,  as  soon  as  he  could  possibly  travel,  he 
came  to  let  me  know  that  I  had  saved  him ;  that  his  peo- 
ple had  agreed  not  to  kill  him,  and  that  he  would  always 
call  himself  my  boy,  as  I  had  saved  his  life. 

Many  persons  were  jealous  of  my  influence  with  the 
natives  and  wondered  how  I  managed  to  obtain  so  much 
power  over  them.  I  simply  acted  as  a  friend,  and  the 
Indians  knew  this. 

One  circumstance  I  will  relate  that  will  explain  a 
little  of  this  power.  There  was  one  of  our  white  set- 
tlers who  had  lost  his  only  cow.  She  was  running  on 
the  river  bottom,  near  the  Indian  camp.  At  the  time 
this  occurred  the  commander  at  McDowell  was  Captain 
Norval,  a  rather  impetuous  officer. 

A  letter  was  sent  to  this  officer,  stating  that  the 
Indians  had  stolen  and  killed  the  only  cow  that  a  poor 
man  had  and  calling  on  him  to  come  and  redress  the 


330  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

wrong.  Accordingly,  Captain  Norval  soon  appeared,  at 
the  head  of  some  dragoons,  went  to  Mesa  City  and  wrote 
an  order,  to  be  deHvered  to  the  Indians  through  me,  that 
the  cow  had  to  be  produced  or  paid  for  within  six  hours, 
or  he  would  kill  the  last  Indian  to  be  found. 

The  Indians  accused  lived  across  the  river,  which 
was  now  very  high.  I  immediately  sent  a  courier  for  the 
old  chief  to  come  to  my  ranch,  also  informing  him  of  the 
charge. 

The  old  man  came  as  soon  as  possible,  having  to 
swim  the  river.  He  was  quite  old  and  feeble,  but  man- 
aged to  get  over  with  the  help  of  some  younger  men. 

Captain  Norval  soon  made  his  appearance  and,  with 
something  of  a  flourish,  reiterated  his  threat.  The  old 
chief  looked  at  him  in  a  dazed  manner,  then  asked  if  the 
captain  wanted  them  to  pay  for  the  cow  when  they  knew 
nothing  about  her. 

"No;  but  you  have  stolen  the  cow  and  killed  and 
eaten  her,  and  you  have  got  to  pay  for  her  or  I  will  turn 
my  soldiers  loose  on  you." 

"Who  says  we  killed  this  man's  cow?" 

"This  letter  says  so." 

"That  letter  lies;  we  know  nothing  about  the  cow. 
It  would  be  better  for  us  if  we  had  killed  her,  for  we 
could  then  confess  and  pay  for  her;  but  how  can  we 
confess  and  pay  for  what  we  know  nothing  about?" 

The  captain  then  asked  what  had  become  of  the 
cow.  The  old  chief  said  he  did  not  know,  positively,  but 
thought  perhaps  he  could  tell.  He  said  the  day  the  cow 
was  lost  there  had  been  a  sudden  rise  in  the  river;  the 
water  coming  down  so  suddenly  that  the  cow,  being  on 
an  island,  was  probably  washed  way  and  drowned.  The 
old  man  was  so  simple  and  straightforward  in  all  his  talk 
that  Captain  Norval  became  convinced  that  he  was  truth- 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  33 1 

ful,  and  that  the  charge  was  more  malicious  than  rea- 
sonable. 

There  was  scarcely  a  week  passed  but  what  there 
were  miserable,  petty  charges  brought  against  the 
Indians,  often  on  the  slightest  grounds,  that  had  to 
be  met. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 


Opposition  to  the  Indians — An  Exciting  Meeting — A  Commission 
Appointed  to  Investigate  Indian  Water  Claims — Efforts  to  Rob 
the  Natives — Armed  men  Begin  to  Gather — Peaceful  Settlement. 

SOON  after  the  events  just  narrated  occurred,  Major 
Chaffee  took  command  at  Camp  McDowell.  He 
soon  "took  in"  the  situation  and  took  an  interest  in  the 
welfare  and  rights  of  the  Indians.  To  him,  more  than 
any  one  else,  is  owing  the  preservation  of  the  Indian's 
rights  and  the  final  allowing  of  the  lands  to  these  people. 
I  will  give  one  more  especial  account  and  then  go  on.  I 
could  write  a  book  on  the  doings  of  Salt  river  labors,  but 
have  not  room  in  this  for  more  than  a  few  items. 

Once  the  spirit  ran  so  high  against  the  Indians,  that 
it  was  determined  to  drive  them  away  unless  they  came 
to  such  terms  as  the  whites  should  dictate.  A  mass 
meeting  was  called  to  meet  at  Tempe,  for  both  whites 
and  natives.  At  the  time  it  was  hardly  safe  for  me  to 
appear,  as  my  life  had  been  threatened.  I  had  even 
been  told  to  my  face  by  a  Captain  Sharp,  that  he. was 
ready  to   help   put  the  rope  around  my  neck  any  day. 

However,  I  went  to  the  meeting.     Many  demands 


332  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

were  made  of  the  Indians,  all  of  which  they  acceded  to 
that  was  possible  for  them  to  do.  The  whites  were 
about  satisfied  with  the  disposition  of  the  Indians,  when 
one  man  got  up  and  said  he  had  a  saddle  stolen  from 
him  some  two  years  previous,  and  that  he  would  not  con- 
sent for  the  Indians  to  remain  longer  where  they  were, 
unless  they  paid  for  the  saddle.  At  this,  several  others 
commenced  telling  what  they  had  lost  and  demanded  the 
same. 

I  had  kept  perfectly  silent  during  the  whole  parley. 
Now  when  this  was  explained  to  the  Indians,  they  seemed 
at  a  loss  what  to  say.  Finally  the  chief  said  they  were 
not  able  to  pay  for  these  things ;  that  it  was  asking  more 
than  they  could  do.  The  spirit  of  the  whites  was  really 
devilish ;  they  seemed  determined  to  drive  the  Indians  to 
the  w^ll,  not  one  had  spoken  a  word  in  their  behalf. 

I  now  felt  iiTipelled  to  speak.  When  I  asked  to  be 
heard  there  were  many  hard  looks  given  me.  The  chair- 
man gave  consent.  As  soon  as  I  commenced  some  one 
interrupted  me.  I  sat  down.  The  chairman  called  for 
order.  I  then  said,  'Tf  you  gentlemen  will  hear  me 
through  without  interruption,  allowing  me  free  speech,  I 
will  talk.  When  I  get  through  my  life  is  in  your  hands, 
do  with  me  as  you  please,  but  I  will  not  talk  unless  you 
agree  to  let  me  say  just  what  I  please."  They  took  a 
vote  to  hear  me  through. 

My  defense  of  the  Indians  was  to  the  point.  I  told 
the  whites  that  they  demanded  of  the  natives,  what  none 
of  them  could  do ;  that  if  they  were  required  to  make 
all  their  wrongs  right  that  they  had  committed  for  the 
last  two  years,  it  would  bankrupt  them  morally  and 
financially.  There  were  other  thieves  in  the  country 
beside  Indian  thieves,  that  may  have  stolen  the  articles. 
I  referred  to  the  virtue  and  honesty  of  the  Pimas  when 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  333 

the  whites  first  came  among  them,  showing  that  all  their 
vile  degradation  and  dishonesty  was  copied  from  the 
white  man.  Also,  that  many  now  present  were  corrupt 
and  immoral,  much  more   so   than   the   average  Indian. 

Congressman  Stephens  was  present.  I  never  heard 
what  he  thought  of  my  speech,  but  I  conquered  the  most 
present,  and  they  agreed  to  let  the  Indians  have  another 
trial.     All  of  these  men  finally  became  nfiy  friends. 

This  meeting,  just  described,  was  with  the  Indians, 
the  old  settlers  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  Those 
settling  on  the  Utah  ditch  were  not  called  in  question  at 
this  time  by  the  persons  seeking  to  drive  the  others 
away. 

To  make  it  more  easy  for  the  reader  to  understand, 
I  will  speak  of  the  Indians  as  north  side  and  south  side. 
The  north  side  being  those  who  were  settled  there  by 
invitation  of  the  whites  before  our  colony  settled  on  Salt 
river.  All  the  control  or  influence  I  had  over  them  was 
simply  as  their  friend.  The  south  side  settlers  were 
those  who  had  colonized  on  lands  watered  by  the  Utah 
ditch.     They  were  commonly  known  as  "Jones'  Indians." 

The  enemies  that  the  latter  had  to  meet,  were  many 
of  the  settlers,  their  immediate  neighbors.  Many  and 
various  attempts  were  made  to  have  them  driven  back 
to  the  agency.  Parties  who  bought  shares  in  the  Utah 
ditch  as  well  as  some  of  the  original  owners,  disputed 
the  right  of  the  Indians  to  water,  although  they  had  done 
a  large  portion  of  the  original  work,  and  were  always 
the  most  ready  workers  in  making  repairs. 

These  efforts  to  rob  the  Indians  of  their  just  rights, 
had  a  tendency  to  discourage  the  poor  people  from  mak- 
ing improvements  that  they  otherwise  would  have  done. 
The  question  of  the  Indians'  rights  to  water,  finally 
became  so  hardly  contested,   that   I  applied    to  Major 


334  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Chaffee,  to  cause  an  investigation  to  be  made  and  protect 
the  Indians  in  their  rights.  I  had  kept  sufficient  account 
of  their  work  to  show  conclusively  that  they  were  entitled 
to  water. 

A  commissioner  was  sent  to  make  some  preliminary 
enquiries.  Most  of  the  share  holders  claimed  that  the 
Indians  had  no  legal  right  in  the  ditch,  which  was  a  fact, 
technically  speaking,  as  no  transfers  had  been  made  to 
them,  simply  verbally  promised  that  by  doing  their  share 
of  work  from  year  to   year,  that  they   could  have  water. 

Every  season  some  one  would  try  to  break  this 
arrangement,  and  I  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  A 
meeting  of  the  share  holders  was  called,  to  take  testi- 
mony to  send  to  this  commissioner  for  the  decision  to  be 
based  upon.  At  this  meeting  I  was  threatened  with  the 
penitentiary  if  I  established  a  claim  for  the  Indians. 
The  party  who  made  the  threat,  said  he  thought  he  had 
bought  unencumbered  shares  in  the  ditch  from  me ; 
others  claimed  the  same.  Now  the  facts  were,  that  each 
and  every  one  who  bought  shares  in  the  Utah  ditch  or 
lands  from  me,  agreed  to  honor  and  assist  in  every  way 
to  help  carry  out  the  work  of  helping  the  Indians. 
Some  betrayed  their  trust  in  a  most  dishonorable  and 
unreasonable  way. 

My  answer  was  that  the  Indians  should  be  pro- 
tected, prison  or  no  prison.  It  was  finally  agreed  by  all 
the  shareholders  that,  if  I  would  cease  to  press  the  mat- 
ter farther  and  sign  the  paper  with  the  rest,  reporting 
that  the  Indians  had  no  legal  right,  all  hands  would  agree 
to  set  apart  a  certain  portion  of  water,  measured  through 
a  head-gate,  and  sign  an  agreement,  allowing  the  Indians 
perpetual  use  of  that  share  on  certain  conditions. 

After  these  conditions  were  agreed  upon  and  a  com- 
mittee appointed,  that  I  had  confidence  in,  to  see  to  the 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  335 

dividing  of  the  water,  I  signed  the  report  with  the 
rest. 

This  I  thought  best  to  do  at  the  time,  reserving  the 
right,  however,  that  if  the  whites  ever  broke  faith  with 
the  Indians  I  would  seek  to  protect  them  at  all  hazards. 

This  contract  has  been  measurably  kept  with  more 
or  less  grumbling  from  some  of  the  shareholders.  The 
lands  the  Indians  occupied  I  had  secured  to  them  the 
best  I  could  by  having  my  sons  claim  some  of  it  in  their 
names.  One  quarter-section  was  secured  by  purchase 
from  a  Mexican,  who  settled  on  a  forty,  allowing  the 
Indians  the  balance.  I  bought  the  Mexican  out  and  sold 
the  forty  to  a  supposed  friend,  with  the  understanding 
that  he  was  to  use  the  forty  and  let  the  Indians  have  the 
balance,  as  formerly  agreed  upon. 

This  agreement  was  broken.  The  party  told  the 
Indians  that  I  had  sold  the  whole  quarter-section  to  him 
and  agreed  to  drive  them  off  The  poor  Indians  believed 
him  and  gave  up  the  land,  when  the  good  friend  (?)  sold 
the  whole  to  a  third  party,  who  knew  nothing  of  the 
facts.  The  Indians  felt  very  badly  towards  me  about 
this.  I  knew  nothing  of  the  transaction  until  too  late  to 
remedy  the  wrong.  This  same  man  gave  testimony 
against  me  afterwards,  stating  that  I  had  sold  the  whole 
quarter-section,  and  I  had  to  pay  the  Indians  for  dispos- 
sessing them. 

It  now  became  the  popular  idea  to  try  to  jump  the 
Indians  lands.  The  Indians  on  the  north  side  were 
threatened  with  land  jumpers  from  Phoenix  and  Tempe. 

One  party  moved  on  their  lands  taking  tools,  sur- 
veying outfit,  provisions,  etc.,  and  went  to  work  just  as 
though  no  Indians'  were  around.  There  were  quite  a 
number  of  them. 

They    had    sent    their    teams   back    home.      The 


336  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Indians  gathered  around  them,  and  In  a  good-natured 
manner  loaded  all  their  stuff  into  their  wagons,  then  by 
main  force  of  numbers  picked  up  the  whites,  loaded  them 
on  top  of  the  loading,  then  seized  the  wagons  by  hand 
and  hauled  the  whole  outfit  off  from  their  lands  laughing 
and  joking  all  the  time.  The  whites  dared  not  make  any 
resistance.  This  raised  a  big  excitement,  and  armed 
companies  commenced  to  gather  both  at  Tempe  and 
Phoenix. 

It  looked  now  as  though  blood  would  be  shed.  I 
went  to  McDowell  and  reported  to  Major  Chaffee,  he 
said  he  would  be  ready  at  five  minutes'  notice  to  come  to 
the  protection  of  the  Indians;  for  me  to  go  back  and  keep 
watch  of  the  moves  aud  let  him  know  the  minute  any 
violence  was  offered.  This  whole  business  was  broken 
up  by  the  cunning  of  an  Indian  who  lived  at  Tempe. 

The  Tempe  company  was  headed  by  a  captain  who 
said  the  Indians  had  broken  into  his  house  and  robbed 
him.  He  had  raised  a  great  excitement  and  quite  a  com- 
pany, and  was  getting  ready  to  join  the  company  from 
Phoenix  to  make  war  on  the  Indians  who  had  ran  them 
off  from  their  lands. 

This  Tempe  Indian  was  standing  looking  at  Captain 

J 's    company,     when     someone    asked    him    if   the 

Indians  had  really  broken  into  Captain  J 's  house. 

Juan  said:     ''Yes." 

"What  made  them  do  it?" 

Juan  said  "the  captain  owed  an  Indian  for  his  squaw 
and  would  not  pay  him,  and  the  Indian  had  got  into  the 
captain's  house  and  stole  his  breeches  to  pay  himself" 

At  this  the  company  turned  on  their  captain,  gave 
him  a  good  cursing,  broke  ranks  and  went  about  their 
business. 

This    soon    reached    the    Phoenix    company,    who 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  2>2>7 

became  disgusted  and  broke,  whether  Juan  told  the  truth 
or  not  it  answered  the  purpose,  and  had  a  lasting  effect, 
for  most  every  one  believed  him. 


CHAPTER  L. 

I  decide  to  Devote  Myself  to  Personal  Interests — Summoned  as  a 
Witness  in  Indian  Difficulties — My  own  Troubles — I  meet  the 
Demands  of  my  Brethren  though  it  Takes  my  Home. 

MAJOR  CHAFFEE  had  been  watching  the  efforts  of 
the  whites  to  rob  the  natives  of  their  rights.  He  had 
reported  to  the  proper  department  the  condition  of  affairs. 
He  did  all  he  could  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  Indians. 
I  kept  him  continually  posted  and  I  am  satisfied  that 
without  his  oversight  of  affairs  the  Indians  would  have 
been  driven  away  and  the  work  among  them  on  Salt 
river  broken  up. 

One  piece  of  land  that  the  whites  had  attempted  to 
take  from  the  Indians  known  as  "Gironimo's  farm," 
on  a  school  section,  had  passed  from  one  claimant  to 
another,  each  one  threatening  that  they  would  hold  it. 

One  party  went  to  work  on  this  land.  I  warned 
him  off  and  got  a  good  cursing,  a  few  days  after  this  he 
in  an  exulting  manner  said  to  me  "I  have  now  sold  this 

land  to ,and  got  my  pay.     I   would  like  to  see  you 

face  him,  I  guess  you  dare  not  do  it.  He  intends  to  put 
his  teams  to  plowing  and  I  guess  you  will  have  to  give 
up  this  time." 

As  soon  as  the  teams  started  to  plow  I  notified  the 
young  men  to  stop  and  to  tell  their  father  that  he  could 


338  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

not  occupy  the  land.  This,  considering  who  the  individ- 
ual was,  was  considered  not  worth  noticing  and  the  plow- 
ing continued.  I  went  to  camp  and  reported  to  Captain 
Chaffee.  He  sent  a  note  saying  they  must  get  off  or  he 
would  send  a  file  of  soldiers  to  put  them  off.  They  went 
off  considerably. 

Captain  Chaffee  had  recommended  the  setting 
apart  the  lands  occupied  by  the  Indians  as  reservations, 
after  much  labor  and  investigation,  this  was  finally  done. 

President  Hayes  declared  the  whole  of  Salt  River 
valley  Indian  reservation,  including  Phoenix,  Tempe, 
Mesa  City  and  the  whole  country  occupied  by  the  whites. 
When  this  proclamation  came  out  there  was  a  rattling 
among  the  ''dry  bones."  All  were  astounded,  the  ''flop" 
was  so  sudden,  and  complete.  From  daily  expecting 
orders  to  come  to  send  the  Indians  away,  the  towns,  fine 
ranches  and  all  were  given  to  the  Indians. 

Many  were  puzzled  over  this  proclamation,  not 
knowing  but  what  it  was  intended  in  earnest,  but  the 
majority  knew  it  was  a  mistake  as  we  had  only  asked  for 
the  lands  occupied  by  the  Indians.  There  was  now  a 
complete  revulsion  of  feeling  toward  me  by  the  old 
settlers.  They  acknowledged  I  had  won.  I  was  looked 
upon  as  a  person  who  would  never  give  up.  All  knew 
I  had  made  the  fight  alone  during  the  whole  time.  I  was 
assisted  by  my  family  only  and  it  stands  on  the  record 
in  the  books  of  the  settlement  that  my  labors  were  not 
sustained  by  my  associates.  So  for  this  reason  I  claim 
the  right  to  speak  singly.  I  would  rather  it  had  been 
different  for  I  knew  good  works  had  been  done  by  others 
but  as  they  have  placed  their  names  on  record  as  never 
having  sustained  me  I  will  have  to  let  them  take  their 
choice.  As  "bungling"  as  I  may  have  been  I  got  the 
Indians  their  lands. 


FORTY   YEARS   AMONG   THE    INDIANS.  339 

It  was  nearly  a  year  before  things  were  straightened 
up  and  put  to  rights.  Finally  President  Hayes  modified 
the  grant  giving  the  Indians  only  the  lands  they  occupied. 
During  the  whole  of  this  time  the  Indians  were  steadily 
improving  their  farms,  helping  to  enlarge  the  ditch,  and 
generally  advancing  in  good  behavior ;  and  with  a  few 
exceptions  becoming  moral  and  industrious  ;  raising  good 
crops,  selling  large  quantities  of  wheat  and  sustaining 
themselves  without  help  from  anyone. 

Once  our  place  was  visited  by  an  Indian  inspector 
who  reported  the  Indians  in  a  better  condition  than  any 
on  the  government  reservations.  Many  had  been 
baptized. 

I  had  by  this  time  become  quite  unpopular  among 
those  who,  I  thought,  ought  to  be  my  friends.  I  had 
gotten  into  the  habit  of  resisting  every  one  who  opposed 
my  labors  with  the  natives.  Such  seemed  like  an  enemy. 
When  I  saw  the  Indians  firmly  established  on  their  lands 
I  desired  to  sell  out  and  go  on  to  Mexico. 

Persons  were  appointed  from  time  to  time  to  take  my 
place  with  the  Pimas.  But  little  progress  was  made  until  my 
eldest  son,  Daniel  P.  was  placed  in  charge  of  them.  A 
school  house  was  built,  and  some  few  now  took  an 
interest  in  helping  along  the  work. 

Sisters  Susanna  Brady,  Susan  Savage  and  a  Sister 
Harmon,  formerly  of  the  Sixteenth  Ward,  Salt  Lake 
City,  commenced  teaching  the  children  who  made  rapid 
progress.  Many  of  them  at  this  time  can  read  in  the 
third  and  fourth  readers,  calculate  figures  and  write  a 
very  good  hand.  Sister  Harmon  has  taught  them  music. 
Many  of  the  young  people  are  good  singers,  one  having 
learned  to  play  the  organ. 

Many  of  the  older  natives  are  intelligent  and  often 
speak  in  meeting  with  much  force  and  understanding. 


340  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

An  effort  was  made  by  a  company  to  buy  me  out 
but  not  being  able  to  agree  among  themselves  it 
failed. 

My  farm  was  quite  valuable.  From  the  products  of 
it  I  had  paid  most  of  the  old  debts. 

I  now  concluded  to  make  Salt  River  my  home, 
improve  my  place  and  live  in  peace,  as  I  had  done  all  I 
could  for  the  Indians.  I  gave  up  all  pretence  of  having 
any  control  or  management  of  any  kind  whatever  over 
their  affairs,  farther  than  to  be  friendly  and  give  them 
such  advice  as  a  friend  could.  I  supposed  this  would  be 
satisfactory  and  end  all  trouble,  but  in  this  I  was 
mistaken. 

One  day  while  at  work  plowing  on  a  ranch  some 
four  miles  from  home,  one  of  my  sons  brought  me  a  note 
stating  that  the  Indians  had  made  complaint  against  some 
of  the  settlers  and  that  the  charge  was  being  investigated 
and  that  I  was  wanted  as  a  witness. 

I  had  heard  of  no  trouble  lately  and  could  not  call 
to  mind  anything  wherein  the  Indians  had  a  right  to  com- 
plain. My  supposition  was  that  it  was  some  difficulty 
that  had  taken  place  in  my  absence  as  I  had  been  away 
from  home  several  days. 

I  wrote  a  note  to  the  Bishop  who  was  to  conduct  the 
investigation  saying  that  I  had  no  knowledge  of  any 
unsettled  difficulties  between  the  Indians  and  whites,  and 
that  I  was  not  at  present  paying  any  attention  to  Indian 
affairs  and  could  not  possibly  call  to  mind  anything  that 
would  make  my  evidence  needed,  but  if  there  was,  to 
please  send  me  word  by  my  son  and  I  would  come 
immediately.  I  went  on  with  my  plowing  thinking  noth- 
ing more  about  the  matter. 

Soon  my  son  Wesley  came  at  full  gallop,  looking 
quite  excited.      I  asked  him  what  was  the  matter,  he 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  34 1 

replied,  "They  are  going-  to  cut  you  off  from  the  Church, 
I  heard  them  say  so." 

I  asked,  **Did  they  send  you  to  tell  me?" 
"No,  but  I  heard  what  they  said  and  came  as  fast  as 
I  could  to  tell  you;  but  I  don't  know  what  they  mean." 
I  jumped  on  the  horse  and  got  to  the  place  as  soon 
as  possible  where  the  trial  was  going  on,  but  they  had 
adjourned.  I  wrote  a  note  to  the  Bishop  immediately, 
stating  that  I  wished  to  make  satisfaction  if  I  had  offend- 
ed, as  I  had  not  intended  to.  In  answer  I  received  the 
following : 

"JoNESViLLE,  April  1st,  1883. 
''Elder  D.   W.  Jones: 

"Understanding  that  you  desire  to  appear  in  the 
Bishop's  Court  and  apologize  for  your  disregard  to  our 
notice  sent  you  to  attend  and  give  testimony,  we  will  be 
in  session  tomorrow,  at  4  p.  m.,  at  the  school-house,  at 
which  time  you   can  avail  yourself  of  the  opportunity. 


"Bishop." 

Before  the  time  of  meeting,  next  day,  I  learned,  to 
my  surprise,  that  the  whole  business  was  against  myself; 
that  I  was  being  tried  for  robbing  Indians  of  their  lands. 
This,  to  me,  was  so  unjust,  so  unreasonable  and  in  every 
way  malicious  that  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would 
make  no  defence  whatever,  but  let  the  prosecutors  go 
on  and  submit  to  whatever  decision  they  gave. 

My  reasons  for  this  were  that  I  knew  there  was  a 
deep  prejudice  against  me — not  entirely  without  cause — 
and  the  only  way  for  me  to  break  it  up  would  be  to  sub- 
mit to  the  parties  who  were  trying  to  drive  me  to  the 
wall. 

Next  day  I  appeared  and  asked  forgiveness  for  not 


342  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

coming  at  the  first  notice.  A  motion  was  made  to  for- 
give me.  Before  this  was  put  to  vote  I  asked  to  make  a 
statement  so  that  my  feelings  would  be  fully  understood, 
that  was,  that  I  should  not  have  testified  if  I  had  been  at 
the  former  hearing ;  that  I  was  now  here  according  to 
their  notice,  but  that  I  declined  to  make  any  defence 
whatever. 

The  tribunal  seemed  puzzled  to  know  what  to  do 
with  me,  but  finally  decided  that  I  must  make  some  more 
confessions.  '  This  I  agreed  to  do  at  a  public  meeting. 
When  the  time  came  I  made  my  apology,  which  was  all 
right  for  the  time  and  place,  but  a  still  greater  humilia- 
tion was  wanted.  This  I  also  agreed  to.  During  these 
exercises  my  robbery  case  was  being  taken  under  advise- 
ment. However,  I  guess  it  will  be  as  well  to  get  through 
the  confession  while  about  it.  Now,  I  do  not  wish  any 
one  to  think  that  my  apologies  were  not  sincere,  I  fully 
realized  that  I  had  been  disrespectful,  for  I  really  had  no 
respect  for  the  whole  proceedings. 

The  last  decision  was  that  I  was  to  apologize  before 
the  whole  ward  and  make  full  and  complete  satisfaction 
to  all  present.  At  the  appointed  time  I  stood  up  and  did 
the  best  I  could,  but  was  told  that  it  was  not  satisfactory. 
I  then  asked  that  a  paper  be  prepared,  just  what  would 
satisfy,  and  I  would  endorse  it.  This  was  agreed  to,  and 
under  instructions  the  clerk  commenced  to  write.  I  was 
standing,  but  was  asked  to  take  a  seat.  I  declined,  as  I 
had  the  floor  and  was  determined  to  keep  it  until  the 
business  was  finished. 

Finally,  after  many  failures,  a  satisfactory  confession 
was  written  out  and  read.  I  signed  the  same  with  my 
own  free  will  and  consent.  There  was  nothing  in  the 
requirement  but  what  was  reasonable  under  the  circum- 
stances. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS.  343 

I  find  by  the  date  of  the  decision  against  me,  that  it 
was  given  before  the  last  confession,  as  that  could  not 
possibly  have  taken  place  within  three  days  from  the  ap- 
peal.    This  is  a  copy  of  the  decision  given : 

"April  3rd,  1883. 
''Brother  D.   W.  Jones: 

''It  is  the  decision  of  the  Bishop's  court  that  you  pay 
the  receivers  *  *  the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars 
for  dispossessing  Indians  of  their  lands ;  said  sum  to  be 
paid  on  or  before  the  14th  of  April,  1883,  and  if  not  paid 
by  that  time  you  shall  be  cut  off  from  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints." 

I  made  up  my  mind  to  abide  the  decision  without 
appealing  it.  A  short  time  before  this  trouble  Brother 
Snow  had  visited  Salt  River  and  had,  so  I  understood, 
caused  to  be  settled  some  feelings  that  had  existed  for 
some  time  past  between  myself  and  others.  I  had  in 
good  faith  agreed  to  work  in  unison  with  the  authorities 
of  the  stake  and  had  been  doing  my  best  to  prove  my 
sincerity. 

When  this  decision  was  given  I  went  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Stake  and  showed  it  to  him.  He  expressed 
himself  surprised,  saying  that  he  had  always  thought  me 
over-tenacious  about  the  Indians'  rights.  He  said  I  could 
appeal  it.  I  told  him  it  would  take  time  and  trouble,  and 
I  felt  like  paying  the  fine  and  letting  the  matter  rest,  but 
that  I  feared  there  was  a  disposition  to  crowd  me.  The 
time  was  so  short — only  ten  days  allowed — and  that 
money  was  scarce  and  hard  to  get.  He  replied  that  all 
that  could  be  expected  was  for  me  to  consent  and  pay  as 
soon  as  I  could.  I  told  him  I  feared  not,  as  the  whole 
proceeding  showed  malice. 

I  went  back  home  and  wrote  the   Bishop  a  letter, 


344  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

saying  that  I  would  abide  the  decision  and  that  he  could 
take  charge  of  a  lot  of  wagons  and  stock  which  myself 
and  sons  owned  that  were  now  at  home  on  the  ranch.  I 
gave  a  list  of  the  same,  and  they  were  worth  over  one 
thousand  dollars.  I  told  him  he  could  take  charge  of  the 
whole  of  it  or  that  he  could  pick  and  receive  sufficient 
to  cover  the  fine,  and  I  would  hold  myself  in  readiness 
to  assist  under  his  counsel  to  get  the  money  out  of  the 
property.  If  my  offer  was  not  properly  worded  I  would 
sign  any  agreement  that  might  be  required  of  me  ;  but 
when  the  letter  was  read  one  party  remarked,  "Jones 
has  followed  his  rule  and  gone  contrary  to  what  we 
expected.'* 


CHAPTER  LI. 


I  Remove  to  Tonto  Basin  —  Death  by  Accident  of  my  Wife  and 
Child— Return  to  Salt  River— My  Official  Duties  There— Trip 
to  Old  Mexico. 

MY  OFFER  was  unfavorably  received,  and  I  was 
told  to  have  the  cash  ready  to  pay  by  the  time 
named.  I  counseled  with  those  who  presided  over  me, 
and  though  the  advice  I  received  was  contrary  to  my 
ideas  of  justice  and  right,  I  followed  it,  though  it  was  at 
the  complete  sacrifice  of  my  home  acquired  by  years 
of  toil  and  hardship.  I  was  determined  to  retain 
my  standing  in  the  Church  at  any  cost,  and  leave  judg- 
ment with  the  Lord,  who  will  eventually  deal  out  strict 
justice  to  all  men. 

I  was  so  much  used  up  now  that  I  felt  like  hiding  up 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  345 

for  the  balance  of  my  days.  I  settled  up  my  affairs  in 
Salt  River  and  moved  to  Tonto  Basin,  where  but  few 
people  could  live,  the  place  being  small.  I  commenced 
to  make  me  a  farm  and  fix  for  a  quiet  life.  My  family 
were  kind  and  good  to  me.  My  wife  was  one  of  the 
noblest  and  best  women  that  ever  lived,  and  was  so 
acknowledged  by  all  who  knew  her. 

On  settling  in  Tonto  my  nature  was  to  improve.  I 
soon  got  started  an  extension  of  the  public  ditch  and  a 
road  to  the  lumber  region.  My  wife  assisted  in  organ- 
izing a  Relief  Society,  and  everything  seemed  prosperous 
for  future  peace  and  happiness,  but  my  misfortunes  were 
only  commenced.  During  the  winter  it  rained  almost 
incessantly.  We  were  living  in  a  large  tent  with  a  shed 
in  front.  One  day,  during  a  storm,  this  shed  fell,  killing 
my  wife  and  babe  two  years  old.  She  was  the  mother 
of  fourteen  children,  but  seemed  just  in  the  prime  of  life 
and  vigor. 

All  I  will  say  is,  that  for  over  a  year  I  would  have 
been  glad  to  have  died.  1  could  not  remain  in  the  place 
after  this,  so  I  went  back  to  Salt  River,  settled  in  Tempe, 
built  a  nice  little  house  and  furnished  it  up  completely. 
Brother  B.  F.  Johnson,  a  neighbor,  asked  me  one  day 
why  I  was  so  particular  to  finish  my  house  so  thoroughly. 

I  replied,  ''We  are  promised  many  fold  for  all  we 
sacrifice  for  the  gospel's  sake.  I  have  given  up  several 
half-finished  houses  for  the  gospel's  sake,  and  if  I  have 
to  take  them  all  back  multiplied  I  want  one  decent  place 
to  live  in  while  I  finish  them  up." 

Speaking  of  Brother  Johnson  reminds  me  of  a  cir- 
cumstance that  he  will  remember: 

One  day  he  and  I  were  together,  when  Brother  Mil- 
ton Rey,  who  had  been  some  time  laboring  among  the 
Indians  at  Jonesville,  came  riding  up  to  us  in  a  hurried, 


346  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

excited  manner,  he  said  that  he  had  just  learned  some- 
thing greatly  to  my  advantage ;  that  he  had  been  talking 
to  the  Indians  and  they  had  told  him  that  I  had  never 
wronged  them  in  any  way  and  that  it  was  all  a  mistake. 

He  wanted  me  to  go  immediately  with  him  and  get 
a  re-hearing  on  all  charges  brought  against  me.  I  was 
really  amused  at  his  earnestness,  as  was  also  Brother 
Johnson.  Brother  Rey  could  not  understand  why  I  did 
not  take  more  interest  in  what  he  was  telling  me,  until  I 
explained  to  him  that  I  was  well  aware  that  through 
prejudice  and  not  through  guilt  had  I  been  con- 
demned. 

There  were  a  few  unworthy  Indians  whom  I  had  to 
correct  from  time  to  time,  they  might  have  said  some- 
thing against  me  when  prompted  to  do  so,  but  the  Indians 
as  a  body  always  honored  me  more  than  any  one  else, 
and  do  so  to  this  day. 

After  getting  my  house  finished  in  Tempe  and 
moving  my  children  from  Tonto,  I  concluded  to  go  ahead 
and  do  the  best  I  could  to  make  myself  useful.  The 
school  district,  one  of  the  oldest  and  richest  in  the 
country,  had  one  of  the  poorest  school  houses,  owing  to 
the  former  trustees  not  being  able  to  understand  the 
laws  alike. 

As  there  were  now  many  Mormons  living  in  the  dis- 
trict it  was  proposed  that  they  should  have  a  repre- 
sentative; I  was  chosen  for  this  place.  The  other  two 
agreed  to  sustain  me  in  building  a  good  school  house. 
We  soon  made  arrangements,  and  one  of  the  best  houses 
in   the  county  was  speedily  erected  and   ready  for  use. 

I  was  also  appointed  to  take  the  school  census  of 
the  district,  and  to  be  assistant  assessor  for  the  Mesa 
and  Jonesville  districts.  These  active  services  helped  me 
somewhat  to  bear  the  grief  for  the  loss  of  my  wife. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  -  547 

During  the  summer  of  1884  my  mind  often  rested 
on  Mexico,  and  the  obligation  I  felt  resting  upon  me  not 
to  give  up  my  mission  in  that  country.  I  tried  to  rid  my 
mind  of  these  reflections  but  could  not. 

I  remembered  that  I  had  agreed  with  Brother  Brig- 
ham  and  George  A.  Smith  to  stick  to  the  mission  so  long 
as  I  lived;  I  remembered  that  Brother  Smith  talked  to  me 
about  this  mission,  even  after  we  had  to  shake  him  every 
few  minutes  to  keep  him  awake,  so  that  he  would  breathe 
by  force  of  will.  I  was  with  him  daily  just  before  his 
death.  Once  he  said  to  me  that  he  would  like  to  live  to 
help  in  the  Mexican  mission. 

Brother  Brigham's  letter  directing  me  to  go  on  to 
one  of  the  spots  where  Israel  would  sooner  or  later 
gather,  etc.,  would  come  to  my  mind.  Again,  I  remem- 
bered that  Brother  Brigham  had  told  me  that  during  my 
mission  there  would  be  times  when  I  would  seemingly 
be  surrounded  with  a  high,  strong  stone  wall,  and  in 
which  there  would  appear  no  opening.  "But,"  said  he, 
''don't  kick  at  it  for  you  will  only  make  your  toes  sore. 
Be  faithful  and  in  time  it  will  be  removed." 

It  now  occurred  to  me  that  I  had  forgotten  the 
counsel  not  to  kick,  for  I  had  been  kicking  at  this  very 
wall,  and  had  got  my  toes  terribly  broken.  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  try  and  quit. 

Finally  the  spirit  and  desire  became  so  strong  to 
visit  Mexico  that  I  could  not  resist  the  feeling.  My 
children  needed  what  we  had  left  for  their  support,  so  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  go  if  I  had  to  make  the 
trip  on  foot.  At  this  time  the  land  committee  was  work- 
ing in  Mexico.  I  often  met  some  of  them,  but  all  seemed 
to  avoid  receiving  any  information  from  me.  This  was 
not  at  all  strange  for  I  knew  that  I  was  looked  upon  as 
rebellious,  as  my  side  of  the  story  had  never  been  heard. 


348  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

About  the  time  that  I  was  thinking  of  starting,  there 
was  an  old  miner  from  Utah  came  to  my  house  with  a 
good  traveling  outfit,  and  wished  to  go  to  Mexico.  He 
offered  to  take  me  through  if  I  would  furnish  a  certain 
amount  of  horse  feed  and  provisions  and  assist  him  as 
interpreter  in  getting  through  the  custom  house,  and  get 
him  introduced  to  some  of  the  mine  owners  in   Mexico. 

I  had  heard  some  little  about  this  man  and  had  met 
him  many  years  past  in  Utah.  He  made  me  such  fair 
offers  that  I  concluded  to  go  along  with  him.  As  the 
most  that  I  cared  for  was  to  get  to  Mexico  with  my  sad- 
dler's tools.  With  them  I  knew  I  would  be  safe  for 
expenses  at  any  rate.  My  main  desire  was  to  get  to  the 
district  of  country  and  see  what  shape  the  spot  was  in 
that  Brother  Brigham  had  approved. 

While  in  Provo  one  time  Brother  Brigham.,  in  pres- 
ence of  Brother  Cannon  and  others,  took  a  map  and 
motioning  his  finger  around  over  the  map  settled  onto 
this  very  place  and  said,  "Here  is  a  gathering  place  for 
the  Saints." 

I  knew  the  place  but  had  never  pointed  it  out  to 
Brother  Brigham.  I  had  never  been  on  the  land  but  had 
been  within  a  few  miles  of  it  and  had  heard  a  full  des- 
cription of  the  place.  Knowing  the  desire  was  to  get 
land  in  Mexico  I  naturally  supposed  that  now  was  the 
time  to  get  this  place  secured  provided  it  was  for  sale. 
So  I  determined  to  go  and  find  out  and  at  the  same  time 
put  myself  in  the  way  of  giving  such  information  as  I  had 
formerly  obtained  while  in  Mexico. 

I  had  heard  that  the  committee  were  trying  to  get 
lands  from  the  government  or  land  companies  which 
amounted  to  the  same.  This  I  fully  believed  would  fail 
having  faith  in  the  report  given  us  while  on  our  mission 
to  Mexico  by  the   old  governor  and  accepted  by  Presi- 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS.  349 

dent  Young.  Also  knowing  that  the  re-surveying  of  the 
country  would  make  but  slight  difference  in  the  con- 
ditions, having  all  this  before  me  I  hoped  to  go  down 
and  be  of  some  use. 

The  trip  through  was  made  without  any  accident 
occurring  worth  mentioning.  My  companion  seemed 
wholy  absorbed  in  mining  speculations,  something  I  had 
never  taken  any  interest  in  nor  wished  to.  When  we 
arrived  at  Ascencion,  I  found  quite  a  number  of  our 
people  camped  there.  Some  of  them  had  been  on  the 
ground  for  some  time,  waiting  for  the  land  purchase  ta 
be  made. 

While  here,  the  miner  with,  whom  I  was  traveling, 
and  who  agreed  to  take  me  on  to  Guerero,  some  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  farther,  heard  of  some  new 
mines,  purporting  to  be  very  rich,  that  had  lately  been 
discovered.  They  were  not  far  out  of  our  way,  and  he 
wished  to  go  by  and  see  them  and  agreed,  if  he  wished 
to  stay  there,  to  let  me  have  the  team  to  go  on  and  not 
detain  me  over  three  days.  We  went  to  the  place — Sa- 
binal.  Quite  an  excitement  was  up,  rich  prospects  being 
found  daily. 

We  made  camp  and  I  commenced  to  get  dinner. 
My  companion  went  prospecting  and  soon  returned  with 
some  small  pieces  of  rock  and  a  big  grin,  saying  that 
he  had  "struck  it  rich."  He  could  scarcely  spend  time 
to  eat  his  dinner ;  he  wanted  me  to  go  and  see  his  find. 
I  told  him  that  I  neither  knew  nor  cared  anything  about 
mines,  but  that  I  would  take  care  of  camp  and  the  team^ 
and  he  could  go  and  finish  his  prospecting. 

We  were  about  six  miles  from  water  and  desired  to 
go  there  for  camp.  Soon  Mr.  S.  returned  with  more 
rock ;  he  was  an  old  prospector  and  really  understood 
his  business.     He  said  he  had  found  a    regular   lead,. 


350  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

where  it  was  exposed  in  a  ravine,  and  that  it  showed 
very  rich. 

I  had  been  told  what  the  laws  were  In  regard  to 
recording  discoveries.  They  are  different  from  the 
United  States  laws ;  no  monument  or  notice  is  of  any 
use.  As  soon  as  a  discovery  is  made  the  finder  must  go 
and  put  the  same  on  record.  The  one  first  recording 
holds  the  claim,  having  four  months  to  do  a  certain 
amount  of  work  required. 

I  explained  this  to  the  miner  and  also  told  him  that 
any  one  getting  to  the  recorder  ahead  of  him  could  take 
his  discovery.  We  were  with  traveling  carriage  and 
seventy-five  miles  from  the  recorder  s  office — at  Casas 
Grandes.  There  was  a  horseback  trail  much  nearer 
and  prospectors  out  in  every  direction,  and  liable  to  run 
into  this  vein.  Mr.  S.  became  excited  and  we  started 
for  Casas  Grandes  in  a  hurry ;  no  time  was  lost. 

On  arriving  there  I  helped  to  get  all  the  necessary 
papers  made  out,  and  found  a  person  to  see  that  all  was 
straight.  When  the  papers  were  all  filed  and  settled 
Mr.  S.  showed  me  my  name  as  half  owner  in  the  find, 
and  said,  "You  are  now  a  rich  man;  if  you  will  stick  to 
me  a  few  days  you  will  soon  be  able  to  go  on  and  buy 
your  land,"  provided  the  rock  assayed  as  much  as  he  be- 
lieved it  would — some  three  hundred  dollars. 

To  find  this  out  it  would  become  necessary  to  go  to 
El  Paso,  some  two  hundred  miles,  for  an  assay.  Again 
I  was  persuaded,  as  I  had  not  yet  got  to  the  district  I 
desired  to  reach,  Mr.  S.  reiterating  his  offer  that,  as  soon 
as  he  could  get  settled  to  mining,  I  could  have  the  use 
of  his  team  as  long  as  I  wished  to  go  on  my  land  busi- 
ness. So  we  went  back  to  the  discovery,  which  was  on 
our  road  to  El  Paso,  and  procured  some  three  hundred 
pounds  of  ore  from  the  vein.     I  helped  to  get  the  rock ; 


FORTY   YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS.  35 1 

the  vein  showed  well.  When  we  arrived  in  El  Paso  and 
got  the  assay  it  showed  over  six  hundred  dollars,  wh  ,h 
was  very  rich.  We  had  no  trouble  in  getting  all  the 
help  we  needed  to  work  the  mine. 

It  was  not  long  before  my  partner  showed  his  real 
character.  As  soon  as  the  means  were  secured  to  work 
the  mine  and  he  needed  me  no  further  he  showed  a  mur- 
derous spirit.  I  now  made  up  my  mind  to  stay  with  him 
the  four  months  and  get  my  rights  on  record,  for  it  was 
through  my  individual  influence  that  the  means  were  ob- 
tained to  work  the  mine.  I  had  to  watch  my  life  contin- 
ually during  the  four  months,  not  daring  to  eat  or  sleep 
with  my  partner.  I  will  not  weary  the  reader  with  what 
occurred  at  this  camp.  It  would  be  rather  unpleasant  to 
read,  but  it  is  no  exaggeration  as  many  who  were  there 
from  time  to  time  can  testify  to  say  that  my  life  was  in 
danger  most  of  the  time  while  in  this  camp. 

When  I  got  my  rights  on  record  I  left  the  camp, 
appointed  a  representative  to  look  after  my  interests 
according  to  the  laws  of  Mexico. 

The  mine  was  quite  rich  turning  out  much  rich  ore 
and  making  a  large  dump  of  ore  that  would  have  paid 
to  freight.  My  partner  spent  most  all  the  proceeds  in 
high  living  and  spreeing. 

I  left  the  mine  in  disgust  and  have  never  made  an 
enquiry  about  it  since,  I  have  passed  in  sight  of  the 
district  twice  since  while  on  land  business  and  never 
cared  to  make  an  enquiry  concerning  either  the  mine  or 
partner. 


352  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


CHAPTER  LII. 

Accidental  Shooting  of  my  Son-in-law — My  Opinion  of  Early  Colo- 
nization by  the  Saints — I  go  on  an  Exploring  Trip — I  Find  the 
Land  Described  by  President  Young — I  Endeavor  to  Make  a  Pur- 
chase but  Fail. 

WHILE  doing  the  assessment  work  one  of  my  sons 
and  a  son-in-law  came  from  Salt  River  to  help  me. 
My  son-in-law,  John  Brady,  shot  himself  accidentally  by 
dropping  a  pistol.  He  died  of  the  wound  and  was 
buried  near  the  camp  of  Saints  at  Ascencion.  Brother 
Jesse  Steele  was  at  the  camp  at  the  time  and  helped  to 
nurse  him.  He  lived  eight  days  after  being  wounded. 
Death  was  caused  by  the  bursting  of  an  artery  that  had 
been  slightly  wounded.  This  occurred  in  the  night  time. 
We  were  watching  as  usual  but  no  suspicion  of  the 
bleeding  existed  until  he  was  too  far  gone  to  recruit  when 
the  bleeding  was  stopped.  This  was  hard  on  me  as  I 
felt  toward  him  as  a  real  son  he  having  always  shown  me 
much  kindness. 

During  these  four  months  I  often  visited  the  camp 
of  the  Saints  at  Ascension. 

The  first  time  I  met  one  of  the  brethren  of  the  com- 
mittee he  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  their  proposed 
land  purchase.  I  said  that  I  believed  that  it  would  be  a 
failure.  When  I  was  asked  why,  I  related  all  about  our 
first  investigations  and  our  report  to  Brother  Brigham, 
saying  that  I  believed  we  reported  the  truth,  and  that  if 
the  present  efforts  succeeded  it  would  prove  our  reports 
false.  This  was  looked  on  more  as  an  insult  than 
as  information. 

I  was  told  that  conditions  had  changed  since  the 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  353 

time  of  our  visit  to  Mexico;  that  our  reports  might  have 
been  all  right  at  the  time,  but  would  not  apply  to  the 
present.  My  answer  to  this  was  that  I  recognized  the 
face  of  the  country  as  being  just  the  same  as  formerly; 
that  mountains  and  valleys  were  all  in  place;  that  I  saw 
no  signs  of  earthquakes  having  changed  the  conditions, 
therefore  I  could  not  see  why  our  reports  if  true  then 
were  not  true  now.  I  soon  learned  that  any  information 
that  I  might  offer  would  simply  be  looked  on  as  worth- 
less. 

I  was  told  that  Mr.  Campos,  who  was  the  agent 
now  offering  them  lands,  was  one  like  Hiram  of  old 
raised  up  for  the  salvation  of  the  people.  I  answered 
that  he  was  a  fraud  raised  up  to  swindle  them  out  of 
their  money.  I  was  severely  rebuked  for  this  remark, 
and  told  that  Mr.  Campos  had  been  introduced  and 
vouched  for  in  a  letter  of  introduction,  as  the  man  who 
opened  the  first  door  to  the  Elders  in  Mexico,  in  the  City 
of  Chihuahua,  and  that  anything  I  might  think  or  say 
would  avail  nothing.  This  was  at  first  a  surprise  to  me, 
for  I  was  in  charge  of  Chihuahua  at  the  time  and  never 
heard  of  Mr.  Campos,  but  I  learned  afterwards  that  he 
was  a  police  officer  at  the  time  and  possibly  was  on  duty 
the  evening  we  held  meeting  in  the  public  Cock  Pit. 

As  soon  as  I  was  thoroughly  convinced  that  I  could 
do  no  good  here  I  made  up  my  mind  to  continue  on  my 
first  effort  to  get  to  the  country  I  had  started  for. 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1885,  while  attend- 
ing to  the  mining  business,  I  made  several  trips  to  El 
Paso.  Once,  while  in  El  Paso,  I  met  Brothers  Erastus 
Snow  and  Samuel  H.  Hill  who  were  on  their  way  to  the 
city  of  Mexico  on  business  of  importance.  They  not 
wishing  to  be  delayed  accepted  my  assistance  in  getting 
their  luggage  checked,  their  money  changed  and  other 


354  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

services  that  helped  them  along,  as  I  was  acquainted  with 
the  officers  and  business.  This  occurred  February  19th, 
1885. 

At  that  time  I  explained  to  Brother  Snow  my  desire 
regarding  this  land.  He  said  for  me  to  go  ahead,  hop- 
ing I  would  succeed.  I  knew  that  it  would  take  con- 
siderable money  to  visit  and  thoroughly  explore  the 
country  I  desired  to  visit. 

The  products  of  the  mine  although  rich,  as  before 
stated,  were  wasted  and  probably  would  continue  to  be 
as  I  could  not  control  my  partner  without  going  into  law, 
and  this  would  be  ruinous  under  the  laws  of  Mexico. 

I  happened  to  meet  a  gentleman  who  had  money 
and  was  desirous  of  going  on  the  same  business,  he 
agreeing  to  bear  the  expenses  for  my  services  as  inter- 
preter, etc.  And  that  any  lands  found  that  might  be 
wanted  by  the  Mormons  was  to  be  entirely  under  my 
control. 

I  now  went  home  to  Salt  river  to  visit  my  children 
and  prepare  for  the  trip  to  Mexico.  We  went  direct  to 
the  city  of  Chihuahua.  Soon  we  were  visited  by  different 
land  speculators  offering  lands. 

We  visited  and  examined  various  ranches,  some  as 
far  down  as  the  southern  part  of  the  state.  We  found 
some  excellent  properties  at  reasonable  prices,  but  paid 
no  attention  to  the  worthless  lands;  simply  examining 
titled  properties  of  good  reputation. 

We  were  in  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  after  having  done 
considerable  exploring,  when  we  were  approached  by  a 
man  who  described  a  piece  of  property  that  he  had 
bonded,  I  soon  became  convinced  that  from  the  descrip- 
tion and  locality  that  it  was  the  land  I  desired  to  find. 
When  we  were  alone  1  informed  my  friend  of  this  and 
we  agreed  to  go  and  see  the  place. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  355 

We  visited  the  parties  holding  the  lands  and  agreed 
to  go  with  them,  it  being  some  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  Chihuahua,  and  in  the  district  approved  of  by 
President  Young  for  a  gathering  place. 

On  arriving  at  this  spot  I  felt  sure  that  I  had  now 
found  the  place  wanted.  Without  further  description  I 
will  say  that  it  is  the  most  beautiful  valley  that  I  ever 
saw;  fertile  soil,  water  plentiful,  and  timber  more  than 
would  ever  be  used;  the  whole  face  of  the  country 
covered  with  the  best  of  grass.  Climate  mild;  crops  are 
raised  in  the  vicinity  without  irrigation.  The  land  held 
by  the  parties  was  for  sixty  days  only.  The  question 
now  was  for  me  to  try  and  get  this  secured  before  the 
bond  ran  out  as  there  were  others  wanting  to  buy  this 
piece  in  connection  with  a  large  tract  adjoining  it  from 
another  party. 

The  owner  of  this  piece  I  wanted  was  a  friend  to  the 
owner  of  the  large  tract  and  had  agreed  that  in  case  the 
present  bond  ran  out  that  he  should  have  the  property 
to  join  onto  his  larger  tract.  The  owner  of  the  large 
tract  had  already  entered  into  negotiations  with  a  third 
party  to  sell  the  whole  provided  he  got  the  small 
property. 

I  had  not  as  yet  learned  all  these  particulars,  but  I 
had  learned  enough  to  convince  me  that  if  the  property 
was  not  secured  within  the  sixty  days  that  the  price 
would  be  raised  at  least.  From  what  I  had  learned  I 
expected  that  Brother  Snow  would  be  at  the  new  Colony 
station  at  Piedras  Verdes,  as  the  purchase  had  been 
made  from  Mr.  Campos,  and  the  people  were  now  mov- 
ing on  lands  they  supposed  belonged  to  the  purchase, 
but  afterwards  proved  to  be  a  portion  of  an  old  and  well- 
known  ranch  known  as  Sandiago. 

The  question  was  how    to  get  to  Brother  Snow's 


356  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

place  the  quickest  way.  It  was  at  least  two  hundred 
miles  distant  across  a  country  not  much  traveled,  and 
some  of  the  way  considered  dangerous  because  of 
Apaches. 

The  fear  that  the  Mexicans  entertain  for  the 
Apaches  puts  me  in  mind  of  something  that  I  saw  when 
I  was  a  small  boy.  Some  rude  boys  had  tied  a  tin  can 
to  a  dog's  tail  and  he  ran  by  yelping,  soon  the  can  came 
off.  I  could  see  the  dog  running  with  all  his  might  for  a 
long  ways.  I  wondered  what  made  him  keep  running 
when  nothing  now  was  to  his  tail.  I  was  too  small  at  the 
time  to  understand  that  he  was  still  scared  at  his  first 
experience. 

The  Mexicans  are  somewhat  the  same;  to  this  day 
they  are  slow  to  forget  past  experiences,  and  seem  to 
think  the  Apaches  are  still  after  them  even  in  the 
localities  where  none  have  been  seen  for  years. 

After  thoroughly  examining  the  land  we  went  to  the 
county  seat  and  my  friend  procured  a  bond  for  the  sixty 
days.  We  then  started  back  east  toward  the  city  of 
Chihuahua.  My  desired  route  lay  north  and  would  turn 
off  at  Temosechic,  about  twenty  miles  from  where  we 
were. 

On  arriving  at  Temosechic  about  noon  I  got  out  of 
our  traveling  carriage  with  my  blankets  and  saddle  bags, 
and  without  having  made  any  arrangements  whatever  for 
the  trip  bade  good-bye  to  my  traveling  companion. 

This  was  the  same  place  where  we  had  been  so  well 
treated  ten  years  before  while  on  our  mission.  I  had 
perfect  faith  in  the  goodness  of  the  people.  For  I  wished 
to  take  the  same  route  that  we  had  come  out  on  before 
and  remembered  many  friends  formerly  met,  and  I 
believed  they  would  remember  me. 

I  went  directly  to  the  house  of  Tomas  Triboso,  in 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  357 

whose  house  we  had  held  meeting.  I  had  his  autograph 
in  my  old  memorandum  book.  On  showing  him  this 
he  grasped  my  hand  and  called  his  wife  saying:  "Here 
is  our  old  friend  the  Mormon  who  preached  in  our  house 
ten  years  ago." 

The  old  lady  came  in  smiling,  shook  hands  and 
embraced  me,  saying  that  all  the  women  in  town  remem- 
bered my  preaching.  A  good  dinner  was  ordered  at 
once. 

Don  Tomas  asked  how  he  could  serve  me.  I  ex- 
plained my  desire  to  reach  the  Mormon  settlements  as 
quick  as  possible,  giving  him  my  reasons.     He  replied  : 

"All  right;  I  have  two  good  saddle  horses.  I  would 
like  to  have  you  stay  and  visit  us ;  all  the  people  would 
be  delighted  to  see  and  hear  you  talk.  We  often  speak 
about  your  people  and  are  glad  to  hear  that  they  are 
coming  into  Mexico.  We  hope  that  they  will  get  here 
into  our  district  in  time." 

After  dinner  my  kind  host  saddled  up  and  took  me 
to  Providencia;  there  introduced  me  to  the  manager, 
who  next  morning  sent  me  to  Namaquipe,  where  I  met 
the  family  of  the  good  old  patriarch,  Francisco  Vasques, 
formerly  spoken  of. 

In  this  way  I  was  forwarded  from  place  to  place 
with  dispatch,  making  through  in  good  time  with  little 
expense. 

I  met  Brother  Snow  at  Coralitos,  and  showed  him 
the  following  letter : 

''Messrs.  Snow,  Burton,  Preston  and  others: 

"Dear  Sirs: — At  the  request  of  Mr.  Jones  I  write 

this   letter.     I   have  bonded  the  ranch,  W ,  for  the 

period  of  sixty  days,  for  $30,000  in  good  and  lawful 
money  of  the  United  States.  I  have  agreed  with  Mr. 
Jones  to  sell  the  same  to  his  people  if  he  can   take  up 


358  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

the  bond  within  the  time  I  have  given  him.  Mr.  Jones 
and  I  have  been  travehng  together,  looking  at  lands — 
Mr.  Jones  in  the  interest  of  his  people  and  I  for  myself, 
looking  for  grazing.  Mr.  Jones  has  been  of  great  bene- 
fit to  me  as  an  interpreter,  and  is  well  posted  in  Mexican 
lands,  and  I  do  this  in  appreciation  of  his  friendship  and 
services.  This  land  is  mostly  farming,  with  plenty  of 
good  timber.  After  the  payment  of  $15,000  the  property 
can  be  delivered  to  purchasers.  This  property  cannot 
be  held  long  without  much  expense,  which  I  cannot  con- 
veniently do  at  present ;  besides,  delays  are  dangerous. 
I  have  given  Mr.  Jones  my  price  on  the  land,  which  con- 
tains 31,000  acres,  all  told. 

"This  is  good  country,  which  Mr.  Jones  is  thorough- 
ly competent  to  detail  to  you. 

"Hoping  to  hear  from  some  of  you  gentlemen 
soon,  I  am 

"Very  respectfully  yours, 

"F.  G.  South. 
"Temosachic,  Mexico, 

"May  25th,  1886." 

This  was  written  on  the  back  of  the  letter: 

"I  have  considered  the  foregoing  and  can  say  that, 
while  I  regard  the  tract  favorably  located  along  the  Sierra 
Madre,  some  eighty  to  one  hundred  miles  south  of  Cor- 
ralis  Basin,  and,  according  to  Mr.  Jones'  representation, 
is  a  desirable  place,  I  am  not  in  any  condition,  at  present, 
to  entertain  the  proposition ;  but  hope  in  the  future  to 
see  our  people  stretching  out  in  that  direction. 

"E.  Snow." 

Brother  Snow  said,  in  substance,  that  the  money 
that  had  been  appropriated,  for  the  purchase  of  lands  in 
Mexico,   was  about  all   exhausted   and   no   very   good 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  359 

results  obtained ;  that  there  had  been  so  much  time  and 
means  wasted  that  he  doubted  if  the  authorities  would 
pay  any  more  attention  to  land  purchases  in  Mexico,  and 
if  anything  more  was  done  that  he  believed  it  would  be 
through  private  enterprise  ;  also  said  that,  if  he  had  the 
money,  he  would  help  me  out  in  the  matter,  but  hoped 
that  I  could  go  and  enlist  help  from  some  of  the  brethren 
who  were  able  to  buy  on  their  own  responsibility. 

On  receiving  this  word,  I  started  immediately  for 
Utah,  came  direct  to  Salt  Lake  City  and  offered  this  land. 
The  first  answer  I  received  was  that  my  land  was  too 
dear;  that  I  should  not  expect  such  a  price  when  good 
lands  could  be  obtained  for  one-fourth  this  amount. 

I  was  surprised  at  this  ignorance  of  land  matters  in 
Mexico,  for  I  knew  all  the  lands  offered  for  such  low  fig- 
ures were  almost  worthless,  and  I  supposed  this  was  now 
understood.  The  land  I  was  offering  would  have  been 
cheap  at  ten  times  the  price,  in  comparison  to  any  yet 
procured — even  as  a  gift.  Poor  land  means  poor  people, 
and  expensive  water  added  to  cheap  land  means  dear 
homes. 

I  have  often  been  puzzled  to  see  how  eager  some 
people  are  to  purchase  acreage  because  the  land  was 
cheap,  when  the  preparing  of  this  land  for  homes  would 
cost  much  more  than  good  lands  that  could  be  obtained, 
where  homes  could  be  made  easily  and  cheaply,  and 
much  better  when  made. 

I  worked  hard  to  get  this  land  secured.  Finally,  I 
met  with  a  party,  at  Ogden,  who  agreed  to  meet  me  in 
Chihuahua  within  the  time  and,  if  the  land  was  as  repre- 
sented, secure  it.  A  day  was  set  to  meet.  I  hurried 
back  to  Chihuahua  and  got  an  outfit  all  ready  for  the 
trip,  feeling  safe,  for  I  knew  that  the  land  would  show 
for  itself. 


360  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

This  party  never  came.  I  received  a  letter,  giving 
some  excuse,  but  saying  they  would  come  in  a  few  days. 
Before  the  time  proposed  the  bond  was  up,  and  the  per- 
sons wanting  the  chance  bought  the  land  the  day  it  was 
on  the  market. 

I  then  telegraphed  to  the  parties  that  they  need  not 
come,  as  it  was  too  late. 


,  CHAPTER  LIII. 

Other  Brethren  Visit  my  Proposed  Purchase — Their  Good  Report — 
Death  of  my  Son,  Wiley — My  Return  to  Salt  Lake  City — A  new- 
Invention. 

1NOW  made  up  my  mind  to  get  the  best  understand- 
ing of  various  tracts  of  lands,  then  for  sale.  I  suc- 
ceeded to  my  satisfaction.  I  wished,  before  leaving 
Mexico,  to  get  some  of  our  people  to  go  with  me  and 
see  the  tract  of  land  that  I  had  been  recommending,  for 
many  persons  supposed  that  I  had  exaggerated  its 
merits. 

I  again  visited  Brother  Snow's  headquarters,  hoping 
that  I  could  get  someone  sent  to  see  this  land.  I  knew 
the  parties  who  had  purchased  it,  and  had  reason  to 
believe  that  it  could  be  bought  of  them  still  at  a  reason- 
able figure,  considering  its  qualities. 

I  succeeded  in  getting  the  brethren  interested 
enough  to  let  two  of  the  Elders — Brother  Spencer  and 
Bishop  Williams,  two  of  the  most  reliable  pioneers  in 
camp — to  go  with  me.     We  were  gone  fourteen   days. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  36 1 

On  their  return  they  reported  that  I  had  shown  to  them 
the  best  country  they  had  ever  seen — IlHnois  and  Ken- 
tucky not  excepted ;  also,  the  most  hospitable  and  well- 
disposed  people  they  had  ever  met. 

I  now  felt  satisfied,  as  far  as  duty  was  concerned. 
This  land  was  acknowledged  to  be  much  better  than  I 
reported  it  to  be. 

I  now  left  Mexico,  with  the  feeling  that  I  had  done 
all  I  could  at  that  time.  I  came  to  Salt  Lake  again  and 
offered  some  other  good  lands  that  I  had  listed  for  sale ; 
but  all  faith  in  Mexican  land  matters  seemed  at  an  end. 
A  great  many  persons,  having  visited  and  seen  the 
country  purchased,  left  in  disgust,  supposing  there  was 
none  better. 

The  only  way  to  account  for  this  good  land  being 
passed  by  is  simply  to  use  the  old  hackneyed  expression, 
''Wait;  the  time  hasn't  come  yet." 

After  stopping  in  Salt  Lake  City  for  a  short  time,  I 
started  for  home,  in  Arizona;  on  my  way  home  I 
called  upon  the  gentleman  who  had  bought  the  land. 
He  knew  all  about  my  efforts  to  secure  the  property, 
and  pledged  himself  to  me  that  I  should  have  the  hand- 
ling of  the  property,  should  it  ever  be  wanted. 

When  I  arrived  at  home  I  found  my  son  Wiley  very 
sick.  From  over-work  and  exposure  he  had  become 
consumptive.  I  was  advised  to  move  him  to  a  cooler 
climate.  We  fitted  up  to  go.  His  desire  was  to  move  to 
Mexico.  I  felt  like  doing  anything  to  please  him,  for  he 
was  good  and  faithful  to  me  and  in  every  respect  a 
true  man. 

He  had  been  with  me  on  some  of  my  hardest  mis- 
sions and  was  always  faithful.  He  tried  hard  to  get  me 
to  load  him  into  a  wagon  and  start,  but  I  could  see  that 


362  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

he  was  fast  failing.  After  being  confined  but  a  few  days 
to  the  house  he  gave  up,  saying,  "Well,  pa,  I  can't  pull 
through;  I  will  have  to  give  it  up.  What  shall  I  tell 
ma?" 

I  never  saw  a  more  common-sense  death  than 
his  was. 

This  was  a  hard  loss  to  me,  for  he  was  like  a  father 
to  the  children  in  my  absence. 

Another  son,  16  years  of  age,  was  now  taken  quite 
sick,  seemingly  almost  the  same.  We  were  about  fitted 
up  for  a  move.  I  now  determined  to  start  for  Utah. 
Death  seemed  to  desire  the  lives  of  my  family.  Others 
were  complaining. 

My  sick  son  seemed  uneasy  and  wanted  to  move,  so 
we  started  out.  After  being  on  the  road  but  three  days, 
he  died  and  was  buried  at  the  Vulture  mining  camp.  My 
three  oldest  sons  remained  in  Arizona,  and  are  there  yet. 

I  would  often  find  myself  counting  over  my  children 
to  see  how  many  I  had  left.  Sometimes  I  felt  almost 
bewildered.  After  leaving  Vulture,  five  children,  two 
grand  children  and  myself  traveled  through  alone,  com- 
ing by  the  way  of  Scanlan's  Ferry. 

We  had  no  further  trouble.  After  this  Death 
seemed  satisfied  for  the  time  being.  We  met  travelers 
at  different  times  along  the  road,  sometimes  a  single 
wagon,  never  more  than  two  or  three. 

As  grass  and  water  are  scarce  in  many  places,  large 
companies  cannot  travel  as  well  as  small  parties.  The 
country  is  now  safe  to  travel  on  any  of  the  routes 
through  to  Mexico.  Ranches  and  settlements  wherever 
it  is  possible  to  locate  for  water. 

We  arrived  in  Fairview,  Sanpete  county,  where  my 
daughter,  Mary,  lived.  We  bought  a  home  for  the  fam- 
ily.    My  daughter,  Ella,  having  lost  her  husband,  took 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  363 

charge  of  the  children  when  I  came  to  Salt  Lake  City  to 
start  business  at  my  old  trade.  This  I  found  would  be 
difficult  to  do,  as  the  trade  had  somewhat  changed,  and 
it  would  take  time  and  capital  to  get  a  start.  So  I  con- 
cluded to  start  on  a  project  I  had  had  in  my  mind  for  a 
number  of  years.  That  was  to  invent  a  better  side-sad- 
dle than  any  yet  in  use  and  make  the  same  adjustable  to 
different-sized  riders.  This  I  have  finally  accomplished, 
after  hard  work  and  much  more  delay  than  I  expected 
when  I  commenced. 

I  will  now  give  what  I  have  formerly  promised — a 
short  account  of  something  I  have  learned  about  some  of 
the  Indian  tribes  I  have  visited. 


CHAPTER  LIV. 


The  Apache  Indians — Ideas  Concerning  God — A  Statement  Concern- 
ing the  Jesuits — Treachery  of  Kerker — Slaughter  of  the  Apaches 
— The  Navajoes — Colonel  Chavez'  Horse  Race — Loss  of  Govern- 
ment Horses — War  with  this  Tribe— The  Yaqui  Tribe — The 
Tarumaries — A  Peculiar  Custom. 

THIS  chapter  will  be  devoted  to  what  I  have  seen  and 
learned  about  Apaches  and  other  southern  tribes. 
The  common  supposition  is  that  the  Apaches  are 
by  nature  and  desire  a  blood-thirsty  people,  and  have 
always  been  so.  This  is  a  mistake,  but  it  is  a  fact  that 
we  have  to  go  back  almost  a  century  to  find  them  a 
peaceable  people. 

•  Their  own  story  is  that  they  were  once  vegetarians. 
They  were  so  opposed  to  killing  that  they  would  say  to 


364  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

the  bear,  ''God  made  you;  go  in  peace,  I  will  not  kill 
you."  And  to  the  birds,  '*God  made  you  with  feathers 
to  protect  you  in  cold  air,  and  wings  to  fly.  How  good 
God  has  been  to  you!"  And  even  to  the  rattlesnake 
they  would  say,  ''You  have  rattles  and  tell  us  where  you 
are  so  that  we  can  get  out  of  your  way.  We  will  not 
kill  you." 

I  am  giving  this  as  the  Apaches  gave  it  to  me. 
They  believe  in  God  the  Father,  and  in  a  God  Mother; 
and  that  God  dwells  in  a  place  where  He  can  see  and 
understand  what  they  do;  that  they  once  dwelt  with  Him, 
and  that  when  they  die  if  they  have  done  good  they  will 
go  back  to  dwell  with  their  Father  and  Mother,  but  if 
unworthy  they  are  sent  away  from  them  in  sorrow. 
They  pray  in  the  evening  that  they  may  be  protected 
from  their  enemies  and  have  good  dreams,  desiring  that 
their  dead  friends  may  visit  and  talk  to  them. 

They  believe  that  they  once  had  more  power  with 
God  than  they  now  have,  and  acknowledged  that  they 
had  done  wrong  in  killing  their  own  people;  saying  that 
for  that  reason  their  prayers  were  not  heard  and 
answered  as  formerly.  They  say  that  Americans  do  not 
honor  God,  but  throw  His  name  at  their  mules  and 
cattle  the  same  as  they  do  clods  or  rocks,  and  that  it  is 
their  duty  to  destroy  the  wicked  blasphemers  from  off 
the  earth;  that  none  have  a  right  to  live  unless  they  honor 
their  Father's  name. 

They  reckon  that  by  killing  white  men  at  the  ratio 
they  have  been  that  eventually  they  will  exterminate  the 
white  race.  This  was  their  belief  a  few  years  since- 
Possibly  they  are  beginning  to  think  differently  by  this 
time. 

They  say  that  the  cause  of  their  fighting  with  the 
Catholic  Mexicans   is  that  when  Mexico  was   conquered 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  365 

by  the  priests,  they  wanted  the  natives  of  Mexico  to 
cease  to  worship  the  real  Father  God,  and  worship  ^ods 
made  of  wood  and  stone.  Most  of  the  natives  sub- 
mitted to  this,  but  the  Apaches  refused  and  went  into  the 
mountains  away  from  the  priests.  After  a  while  the 
Indians  that  commenced  to  worship  the  wood  and  stone 
gods  made  war  on  them  by  order  of  the  priests,  and 
drove  them  to  bloodshed.  After  a  while  they  agreed  to 
submit  and  made  a  treaty  to  listen  to  the  priests,  but  they 
soon  found  they  were  bad  men  and  had  been  enemies 
ever  since. 

Now  for  a  little  history,  partly  written  and  partly 
traditionary. 

Some  two  hundred  miles  in  a  westerly  direction 
from  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  among  the  Sierra  Madre 
mountains,  there  is  a  beautiful  valley  of  about  fifty  thous- 
and acres  of  land,  well  watered  and  surrounded  with 
timbered  mountains.  The  Mexicans  call  this  Paradise, 
or  Garden  of  Eden. 

About  eighty  years  ago  the  Jesuits  planted  a  mis- 
sion among  the  Apaches  in  this  beautiful  valley.  Every- 
thing went  on  happily  for  a  season.  The  head  priest 
had  considerable  influence  with  the  natives,  using  his 
power  for  his  own  convenience. 

In  connection  with  many  other  selfish  customs,  the 
priests  required  of  the  Indians  one  of  their  handsomest 
daughters  to  live  at  the  mission,  making  them  believe 
that  there  was  some  religious  ceremony,  essential  to  their 
welfare,  that  required  the  presence  of  this  maiden.  A 
daughter  of  the  chief  was  selected. 

The  priests  had  told  the  Indians  that  they  lived  pure 
lives  before  God. 

After  a  while  the  daughter  of  the  chief  was  missing. 
When  the  Indians  made  inquiries  for  her,  they  were  told 


366  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

that  she  had  been  taken  to  heaven  in  a  miraculous  man- 
ner and  was  made  a  saint.  The  chief  did  not  believe  the 
story  and  suspected  treachery.  There  was  an  old 
woman  who  had  had  charge  of  the  Indian  girl.  The 
Apaches  seized  and  tortured  her  until  she  confessed  the 
truth.  The  priest  had  lived  with  the  daughter  as  a  wife. 
And  when  her  condition  became  such  as  to  betray  him 
he  had  her  killed  and  buried.  The  Indians  found  her 
body  and  confirmed  this  treachery.  They  then  raised  and 
killed  all  connected  with  the  mission  and  destroyed  every- 
thing possible.  They  swore  vengeance  on  the  priests  and 
their  followers  and  vowed  that  no  Catholic  should  ever 
inhabit  this  valley. 

I  have  seen  the  ruins  they  made  within  the  last 
few  years,  and  heard  this  story  from  the  Mexicans 
living  within  a  day's  travel  from  this  valley.  They  all 
dread  the  Apaches  to  this  day.  No  Mexican  has  ever 
dared  to  make  a  home  there.  From  that  time  until  the 
present  the  Apaches  have  been  at  war  with  the  Mex- 
icans. 

When  white  men  first  went  to  the  region  where  the 
Apaches  roam,  the  Indians  looked  upon  them  as  a  differ- 
ent class  of  people  and  did  not  make  war  upon  the  few 
white  traders  they  met  on  the  road  to  the  city  of  Chihua- 
hua, but  they  would  go  in  and  trade  with  merchant  trains 
owned  by  Americans,  and  in  no  way  molest  them. 

This  peaceful  state  of  affairs  was  broken  up  in  the 
year  1843.  At  that  time  the  State  of  Chihuahua  was 
having  a  hard  time  with  the  Apaches,  and  the  govern- 
ment offered  a  large  reward  for  their  scalps,  ranging 
from  $100  to  $150  per  head. 

This  offer  got  to  the  ears  of  Colonel  Kerker,  of 
Texas.     He  raised  a  company  of  Texans  and  went  to 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  367 

the  city  of  Chihuahua,  and  contracted  with  the  Governor 
for  Apache  scalps. 

The  Colt  revolver  had  recently  been  brought  into 
use.  This  company  of  rangers  carried  these  weapons 
concealed  under  their  coats  and  went  to  Galliana,  a  town 
on  the  Rio  Santa  Maria,  in  the  north-western  part  of 
Chihuahua,  near  the  mountains  where  the  Indians  dwelt. 

This  Kerker  arranged  to  have  the  Apaches  come  to 
a  feast  prepared  for  them,  agreeing  to  meet  them 
unarmed,  as  friends.  The  Indians,  believing  these  white 
men  real  friends,  came  in  without  suspicion,  and,  while 
partaking  of  the  hospitality,  the  rangers  commenced  with 
their  revolvers  and  killed  over  a  hundred  of  them.  The 
Indians  could  make  no  resistance,  but  were  literally 
slaughtered.  Kerker  got  his  money,  but  lost  the  respect 
of  all  decent  men. 

A  few  years  after  this  I  was  in  the  Apache  country. 
They  were  killing  both  whites  and  Mexicans  at  every 
opportunity.  Thirty-five  years  after  I  was  again  in  that 
country  and  it  was  still  the  same. 

For  many  years  when  a  white  man  was  killed  by  an 
Apache,  the  whites  would  remark,  "There  is  another  of 
Kerker's  victims." 

I  saw  this  same  individual  in  1849  in  Santa  Fe, 
when  he  was  there  for  a  few  days.  So  indignant  were 
the  people  at  him  that  there  was  a  strong  talk  of  lynching 
him. 

Individually,  I  succeeded  in  making  friends  with 
most  of  these  Apaches.  I  have  talked  with  them,  but 
they  have   no  confidence  in   the  Mexican  or  white  man. 

The  move  made  by  Gen.  Crook  that  at  the  time 
proved  a  success,  namely,  getting  one  band  to  fight 
another,  finally  ceased  to  work  and  the  scouts  enlisted 
for  the  last  few  years  have  done  but  little  killing.     By  the 


368  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

•whites  these  Apaches  are  considered  the  worst  Indians 
on  the  continent. 

I  have  never  heard  an  apology  or  excuse  for  their 
conduct  by  any  one,  so,  Hke  the  old  miner  who  attended 
a  Methodist  revival,  when  the  preacher  called  on  all  who 
were  for  God  to  rise  to  their  feet,  all  got  up  but  the  old 
miner.  When  all  for  the  Devil  were  called  to  stand  up 
the  old  miner  arose.  The  parson  asked  him  why  he 
voted  for  Satan.  The  reply  was  that  he  never  liked  to 
see  any  man  without  a  friend. 

THE    NAVAJOES. 

A  short  sketch  of  this  tribe  may  be  interesting. 
They  inhabit  the  country  west  of  the  settled  portion  of 
New  Mexico. 

In  1847,  when  I  first  knew  them,  they  were  great 
thieves,  but  not  much  given  to  killing.  Their  philosophy 
was  to  spare  the  herders  so  that  they  could  raise  more 
stock.  They  were  great  sheep  thieves,  often  taking 
whole  herds,  and  sometimes  taking  the  herders  along. 
The  Mexicans  feared  to  follow  them  through  the  canyons, 
and  when  the  Indians  once  reached  the  mountains  they 
were  generally  let  alone. 

After  the  U.  S.  government  was  extended  and  New 
Mexico  became  a  territory,  the  U.  S.  forces  commenced 
to  try  to  stop  these  raids  and,  after  many  years,  partially 
succeeded,  and  troops  were  stationed  in  the  Navajo 
country.  There  was  a  batallion  of  Mexican  volunteers, 
cavalry,  under  Col.  Chavez,  stationed  at  one  of  the  out- 
posts. 

The  Indians  were  seemingly  subdued.  They  were 
always  considered  smart  and  somewhat  politic,  as  well  as 
thrifty  and  industrious,  so  they  soon  accepted  the  situation. 
When  they  found  the  U.  S.  government  was  determined 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  369 

to  make  them  behave,  they  made  a  treaty  and  agreed  to 
quit  steaHng  and  allow  these  troops  to  be  stationed  in 
their  country  and  live  in  peace. 

This  Colonel  Chavez  was  a  great  gambler  and  horse 
racer.  The  Navajoes  were  fond  of  racing  also.  The 
colonel  had  a  fine  horse  that  he  considered  a  ''world 
beater."  A  race  was  gotten  up  with  the  Indians,  who 
were  willing  to  bet  anything  on  their  horse. 

So  sure  was  Colonel  Chavez  of  winning  that  he  bet 
some  five  hundred  head  of  government  horses,  against 
the  same  number  of  Indian  ponies.  The  Indians  looked 
upon  the  colonel  as  owner  of  these  horses.  When  the 
race  came  off,  the  Indians  won.  The  Colonel  was  in  a 
scrape.  He  refused  to  give  up  the  horses,  so  the  Indians 
took  them.       .^ 

I  don't  remember  whether  a  fight  ensued  immedi- 
ately, or  not,  but  I  believe  there  did.  At  any  rate  the 
report  was  circulated  that  the  Indians  had  declared  war, 
and  had  run  off  all  the  soldier's  horses. 

A  war  of  extermination  was  declared  against  these 
Indians,  and  troops  were  sent  into  their  country.  Their 
ranches,  farms,  and  stock  were  destroyed,  and  many  of 
them  were  killed.  The  remainder  were  stripped  of 
everything.  They  were  taken  prisoners  and  put  upon  a 
reservation  in  the  eastern  portion  of  New  Mexico* 
Here  they  remained  in  poverty  for  some  years. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  facts  were  ever  known 
by  the  government  or  not,  but  I  beleive  they  were. 
After  a  time  the  Indians  were  allowed  to  go  back  to  their 
old  country,  a  reservation  set  apart  for  them  and  some 
stock  was  given  them  to  make  a  start.  Being  indus- 
trious and  thrifty,  they  soon  began  to  pick  up.  They 
made  blankets  and  traded  them  for  ponies. 

Many  of  them  about  the  years    187475  came  into 
23 


370  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

the  Mormon  settlements,  some  few  carrying  enough 
blankets  on  their  backs  to  buy  a  mare  pony.  An  Indian 
that  could  load  a  little  Mexican  donkey  with  blankets 
was  considered  a  good  trader. 

It  was  not  many  years  until  these  Navajoes  had 
large  bands  of  horses  and  sheep.  They  are  again  quite 
rich  and  prosperous. 

YAQUIS. 

A  few  words  about  the  Yaquis  might  be  interesting 
also.  They  inhabit  the  Rio  Yaqui  in  Sonoro.  They  are 
an  agricultural  people  and  were  occupying  this  same 
country  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  and  were  peaceable 
and  quite  numerous. 

After  the  government  under  Spain  was  well  estab- 
lished they  offered  to  make  a  grant  of  the  Yaqui  country 
to  the  inhabitants.  The  Indians  declined  the  offer,  say- 
ing the  country  was  and  always  had  been  theirs  and  that 
they  did  not  ask  it  to  be  granted  to  them. 

This  was  rather  an  insult  to  the  arrogant  Spaniard. 
The  offer  has  been  repeated  from  time  to  time,  but  the 
Indians  have  always  declined  the  grant  on  the  same  old 
grounds.  So  the  Yaqui  country  stands  on  the  maps  of 
Mexico  as  government  lands. 

Efforts  have  been  made  several  times  to  oust  these 
Indians  from  their  lands.  Grants  have  been  given  from 
time  to  time  as  was  the  Brannan  grant,  but  the  Indians 
have  never  given  up  their  idea  of  prior  rights. 

There  are  a  great  many  of  the  best  citizens  of  Mex- 
ico in  sympathy  with  the  Yaquis. 

TARUMARIES. 

This  tribe  inhabits  the  mountain  country  in  the 
western  part  of  the  state  of  Chihuahua.    There  are  many 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  37 1 

villages  situated  in  the  Sierra  Madre  mountains,  accessible 
only  by  very  difficult  pack-trails. 

At  the  time  of  the  conquest  these  people  occupied, 
not  only  these  mountain  villages,  but  many  of  the  fertile 
valleys  along  the  foothills. 

Many  of  the  present  towns  of  western  Chihuahua 
bear  the  old  Indian  names  and  are  inhabited  by  people 
descended  from  the  ancient  inhabitants.  With  a  little 
foreign  mixture,  the  pure  bloods   greatly  predominate. 

In  many  of  these  towns  there  are  bands  of  these 
people  who  keep  up  their  old  customs,  name,  and  lan- 
guage, but  are  recognized  as  citizens.  They  submitted 
to  Catholicism  in  form,  but  of  late  years  have  almost 
entirely  lost  respect  for  the  padres  \  saying  that  they 
cared  more  for  their  coppers  than  they  did  for  their  souls. 

These  people,  both  natives  and  mixed  are  very  hos- 
pitable and  industrious,  and  are  more  honest  and  virtuous 
than  are  the  average  Mexican. 

The  villagers  of  the  mountains  are  peculiar  They 
seem  to  have  a  dread  of  mixing  or  associating  much  with 
anyone,  even  the  Mexicans  whose  neighbors  they  are. 
It  is  their  habit,  when  anyone  approaches  their  village, 
for  all  the  inhabitants  to  leave  their  houses  and  retire  a 
short  ways,  leaving  their  doors  open  and  everything 
exposed  so  that  if  anything  is  wanted  by  the  travelers 
they  can  help  themselves.  But  one  thing  must  always 
be  done.  The  pay  for  the  article  taken  must  be  left  in 
sight  or  without  grace  the  party  taking  ever  so  small  an 
article  without  pay,  will  be  waylaid  and  will  be  very 
lucky  if  he  escapes  with  his  life.  So  positive  are  these 
rules  that  no  one  dare  take  the  risk,  and  the  people  have 
commanded  the  utmost  respect  for  ages  by  all  who  pass 
through  their  country.  Unless  imposed  upon  and  insulted 
they  molest  no  one. 


372  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

These  mountain  Indians  are  excellent  hunters.  Deer, 
turkey  and  bear  are  plentiful  in  the  mountains.  They 
often  go  into  the  city  of  Chihuahua  to  trade.  They  pack 
most  of  their  trade  on  their  backs,  traveling  in  single 
file,  paying  no  attention  to  anyone  except  to  do  their 
trading  and  go  straight  back  home. 

Some  years  since,  at  the  town  of  Santa  Rosa,  these 
Indians,  while  on  a  trading  trip,  were  insulted  and 
abused  by  the  inhabitants.  The  Indians  went  home, 
gathered  some  four  hundred  armed  men,  marched  back 
through  a  number  of  settlements,  attacked  the  place  and 
almost  exterminated  the  people,  then  went  home  satisfied. 
They  were  never  called  to  account  for  the  act. 

An  account  of  the  affair  has  been  given  to  me  seve- 
ral times  by  different  Mexicans,  who  invariably  tell  it  in 
honor  of  the  charcter  of  these  Tarumaries. 


CHAPTER  LV. 


Letter  to  the  Deseret  News — A  brief  Review  of  Mexican  History — 
Characteristics  of  the  People — Land  Grants  and  Purchases — 
Peculiarities  of  Land  Titles — The  Climate  of  Mexico. 


T 


HIS  old  letter,  copied  from  the  Deseret  News,  I  think 
will  help  in  describing  Mexico  : 


''El  Paso,  State  of  Chihuahua, 

February  loth,  1876. 
''Brother  y.  Nicholson: 

"I  herewith  send  you  an  account  of  the  country  and 
people  of  this  region. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  373 

DESCRIPTION    OF    EL    PASO. 

•'The  town  of  El  Paso  is  situated  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  in  the  State  of  Chihuahua, 
on  a  low  bottom,  liable  to  much  damage  from  high 
water;  land  sandy.  The  streets  are  simply  old  cattle 
tracks,  running  in  every  direction.  If  an  idea  can  be 
given  of  them  without  mapping  it  will  be  by  saying  they 
followed  the  forks  of  the  trails,  giving  the  grounds  some- 
what the  appearance  or  shape  of  irregular  triangles. 

"The  river-bed  being  quick-sand,  it  costs  a  great 
deal  to  keep  a  water-ditch  in  order.  The  houses  are  one 
story,  made  of  adobe ;  solid  block,  mainly  after  the  old 
Moorish  style  of  small  fortresses ;  hollow,  square  in  cen- 
ter ;  one  door  in  front. 

CLIMATE    AND    PRODUCTS. 

•'The  climate  is  warm  and  pleasant;  plowing  and 
sowing  can  be  done  any  time  during  the  winter.  This 
makes  the  farmer  rather  indolent,  as  he  does  not  have  to 
hurry  as  ours  of  the  colder  climates  do. 

"The  products  are  wheat,  corn,  barley,  beans,  peas, 
onions,  pepper,  sweet  potatoes  and  some  few  other  vege- 
tables. Many  things  more  might  be  profitably  cultivated, 
if  once  understood;  but  the  people  are  satisfied  with 
what  they  have,  and  manifest  but  little  interest  in  new 
introductions. 

"The  fruits  are  grapes,  in  great  abundance  and  of 
the  best  quality ;  pears,  which  the  people  dry  in  great 
abundance,  price,  ten  cents  per  pound.  They  are  excel- 
lent eating.  Their  apples  are  small  seedlings,  not  worth 
eating.  A  few  peaches  of  an  excellent  kind  do  well 
here.  I  have  seen  no  other  fruits.  I  have  heard  that 
strawberries  and  some  other  small  fruits  have  been  culti- 
vated by  foreigners,  and  they  do  extremely  well. 


374  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

RUDE     AGRICULTURE. 

''The  mode  of  cultivation  is  with  an  old  wooden 
plow,  working  their  cattle  by  the  horns.  They  scratch 
up  the  ground  very  poorly,  afterwards  doing  much  work 
with  the  hoe ;  they  regulate  their  ground  for  watering  by 
making  small  embankments  around  small,  irregular  plats, 
from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  across,  and  flooding  the  land.  I 
think  this  a  poor  way,  as  it  causes  their  land  to  bake 
very  hard ;  but  this  is  the  manner  in  which  their  fathers 
did  it,  so  they  think  it  is  all  right.  They  cultivate  all 
open  crops  with  the  hoe,  using  the  large,  old-fashioned 
'nigger'  hoe.  They  cut  their  hay  with  the  same  tool.  In 
Arizona  we  saw  hundreds  of  tons,  at  the  government 
posts,  cut  in  this  same  way.  They  harvest  with  reap 
hooks  and  thresh  with  goats  or  flails. 

MECHANICS,    DOCTORS    AND    LAWYERS. 

"Mechanics  are  scarce.  In  this  town  of  ten  thous- 
and inhabitants  there  is  one  blacksmith  shop,  three  or 
four  carpenter  shops,  two  tailors,  three  or  four  shoe 
shops,  one  wheel-wright  and  one  silversmith.  And  this 
is,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  about  the  whole 
number. 

"To  compensate  for  this  lack  of  mechanics,  there  is 
but  one  doctor  and  one  lawyer ;  and  the  latter  is  sup- 
posed to  be  insane,  as  he  has  quit  the  practice,  walks 
quietly  around  the  town,  says  but  little  to  anyone,  is 
polite,  dresses  neatly  and  seems  to  mind  his  own  busi- 
ness. My  opinion  is  that  he  is  the  most  sensible  lawyer 
I  have  ever  seen. 

LIMITED    COMMERCE. 

"The  commerce  of  the  country  is  limited.  The  peo- 
ple sell  their  wines  and  dried  fruits  generally  as  soon  as 


FORTY    YEARS   AMONG   THE    INDIANS.  375 

ready.  They  go  to  all  the  surrounding  country ;  to  Chi- 
huahua as  well  as  up  the  country  to  Santa  Fe  and  Ari- 
zona. There  are  three  Jew  stores  and  one  Mexican  store. 
Their  business  is  small. 

"There  are  many  small  dealers  of  various  kinds, 
and  there  are  many  people  who  seem  to  live  on  occa- 
sional small  amounts  ;  but  how  they  get  their  money 
deponent  saith  not. 

NON-PROGRESSIVE. 

"  The  people  are  slow  to  adopt  improvements. 
Things  look  about  the  same  as  they  did  when  I  was  here 
about  thirty  years  ago,  in  '47.  The  town  looks  about 
the  same.  A  very  little  has  been  done  about  the  square 
and  church — hardly  perceivable.  They  use  wooden- 
wheeled  carts,  and  everything  seems  as  though  it  was 
but  a  short  time  since  I  was  here  and  saw  things  just  as 
they  now  are. 

HOSPITALITY. 

"  This  is  natural  to  the  people  of  this  country.  A 
kinder-hearted  people,  naturally,  I  do  not  believe  can  be 
found.  They  are  polite  and  mannerly — even  the  lowest 
of  them.  Their  children  are  quiet  and  obedient,  there 
being  no  'hoodlums'  here.  Parents  are  affectionate  to 
their  children.  Husbands  are  polite  and  affectionate. 
They  have  great  reverence  for  Deity,  their  religion  and 
old  age.  Get  them  once  directed  right  and  they  will  be 
the  best  people  on  earth. 

HEALTH    AND    MORALS. 

"The  people  are  generally  healthy,  there  being  but 
little  disease  among  them.  There  are  a  few  Americans 
living  here. 


376  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

''As  to  their  morals,  I  believe  the  people  of  this 
town  stand  above  par,  compared  with  more  civilized 
communities.  The  Apaches  are  the  only  people  said  to 
be  strictly  virtuous  that  I  have  met  on  this  journey  as 
yet,  though  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  aborigines 
are  much  more  virtuous  than  the  mixed  race  of  this 
country. 

''Here  the  people  are  a  mixture  of  the  Spanish  and 
native — the  native  blood  predominating.  Of  the  pure 
bloods  there  are  only  about  two  hundred  remaining  in 
this  town.  Catholicism  prevails  more  here  than  in  the 
interior,  so  I  am  informed  by  persons  from  the  lower 
States  of  Mexico.  There  liberty  of  conscience  is  begin- 
ning to  be  more  popular,  and  priestcraft  is  beginning  to 
lose  its  power  over  many,  but  not  enough  for  them  to  be 
popular  as  yet. 

STOCK. 

"The  stock  of  the  country  is  scarce  and  inferior. 
Horses,  cattle  and  goats  are  tolerably  plentiful.  There 
are  a  few  pigs  and  fo^vls.  The  circulating  medium  is 
corn,  copper  coin,  greenbacks  and  a  little  silver.  Dogs 
are  in  great  abundance,  noisy  but  seldom  bite. 

LOCAL    GOVERNMENT. 

"Taxes  are  light,  except  on  work  on  dam  and 
water-ditch.  The  municipal  regulations  seem  good. 
They  have  a  police  force,  but  it  is  seldom  needed.  The 
officer,  the  Jefe  Politico,  seems  to  control.  There  are 
some  more  officers,  such  as  police  magistrates,  etc. ;  but 
the  first  seems  to  be  manager  of  everything  of  a  politi- 
cal nature.  The  present  incumbent,  Pablo  Padio,  is 
serving  his  second  term,  having  been  re-elected  lately. 
He  is  very  much  of  a  gentleman. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  377 

''The  people  are  very  obedient  to  official  authority, 
and  show  great  respect  to  the  same. 

VARIOUS. 

''With  all  the  faults  of  the  people — which  faults  are 
more  blamable  to  the  manner  in  which  they  have  been 
ruled  than  to  the  people — there  are  good  and  noble 
principles  among  them.  Their  devotion  to  their  religion 
I  consider  a  virtue,  for  they  have  had  no  chance  to  have 
any  better.  Their  reverence  is  unbounded,  and,  as  I 
before  stated,  let  them  once  be  enlightened  with  the 
gospel  and  I  believe  they  will  receive  the  truth — and 
they  will  not  fall  away,  but  will  stick  to  the  right. 

"D.  W.  Jones. 

Mexico,  although  a  sister  republic,  with  railroad 
communications  and  much  commercial  intercourse  with 
the  United  States,  is  not  well  understood  by  the  average 
American.  There  has  been  for  a  long  time,  and  still  is, 
to  quite  an  extent  a  prejudice  against  the  Mexican  peo- 
ple by  the  Americans.  We  look  upon  them  as  far 
behind  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  often  make 
unfair  remarks  about  the  "stupid"  Mexicans,  not  stop- 
ping to  consider  who  the  people  are  or  what  their  oppor- 
tunities have  been. 

A  great  many  accuse  the  Roman  Catholic  church  of 
being  responsible  for  the  ignorance  and  degradation  of 
the  inhabitants. 

In  as  few  words  as  possible,  I  will  offer  an  apology 
for  the  Mexican  nation,  and  compare  what  we  have  done 
with  the  same  element. 

When  this  continent  was  first  discovered  there  were 
millions  of  Indians  inhabiting  it,  extending  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the   Pacific,   and  from  the  north  sea  to  the 


2^"]^  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Gulf  of  Mexico.  That  portion  of  the  continent  lying 
west  on  a  line  from  Texas  to  Oregon,  fell  under  the 
control  of  Spain,  a  Catholic  government ;  that  east  under 
Protestant  Christianity. 

Up  to  the  treaty  with  Mexico,  nearly  two- thirds  of 
this  continent  was  under  Spanish  rule.  Let  us  see  what 
the  conditions  of  the  country  were  at  that  time.  There 
were  about  six  millions  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mexico, 
enjoying  all  the  rights  of  citinzenship.  A  great  portion 
of  the  rulers  of  the  country  being  of  the  natives,  no 
distinction  was  made,  but  the  priests  offered  to  the 
natives  the  inducement  of  equal  rights  with  the  invaders. 

Mexico  is  simply  a  nation  of  converted  semi-civil- 
ized aborigines,  living  and  having  a  being,  and  still 
numbering  as  many  as  at  first. 

The  power  and  influence  of  the  priests  were  extended 
into  Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  California  and  thousands 
of  Indians  were  brought  into  peaceable  relations.  No 
wars  of  extermination  were  declared  against  the  natives, 
but  missions  of  peace  were  the  main  means  of  conquest. 
Up  to  the  year  1848  there  were  in  this  Mexican  territory, 
tens  of  thousands  living,  and  at  least  enjoying  an  exis- 
tence. 

Now  let  us  see  what  has  been  done  by  Protestant 
Christianity  for  the  natives  who  dwelt  on  their  side  of  the 
line.  I  do  not  propose  to  quote  hundreds  of  pages  of 
history  to  show,  but  will  simply  refer  to  the  fact.  They 
have  been  killed  off  just  as  have  been  the  bear,  the  wolf 
and  the  wild  animals  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the 
good,  pious  Puritans  who  wanted  the  country. 

The  real  and  true  comparison  is,  How  do  the 
natives  of  Mexico  compare  with  those  of  the  United 
States?  Let  that  power  and  influence  which  took  hold 
of  the  natives  of  Mexico  speak  and  say  to  those  who  took 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  379 

hold  of  the  other  side:  "Here  is  our  work.  Mexico  as  it 
is  today  is  peopled  mainly  by  descendants  of  the  races 
we  found  here.     Now  show  us  your  work." 

The  question  is  which  are  the  greater  people, 
Americans  or  Mexicans?  The  question  should  be, 
which  are  the  greatest  the  Mexican  or  American  Indians? 

If  Mexico  continues  to  improve  and  the  people  to 
advance  in  the  future  as  they  have  for  a  few  years  past, 
the  question  may  yet  become,  which  people  are  the  most 
advanced  ? 

The  Mexicans  have  many  national  characteristics 
that  might  be  copied  to  advantage  by  Americans. 
Whether  national  contact  will  destroy  some  of  these 
nobler  qualities  or  not  is  a  question. 

They  are  hospitable,  polite,  faithful  to  a  trust,  true 
to  their  friends,  respectful  to  their  superiors  and  parents. 
When  they  have  the  means  they  are  ambitious  to  make 
home  and  everything  around  pleasant;  and  of  late  years 
are  ambitious  to  advance  and  educate  the  people.  They 
are  tolerant  to  all  religious  denominations. 

Many  suppose  that  priests  still  reign  in  Mexico. 
The  Catholic  priest  who  has  helped  to  preserve  the  life 
of  a  nation  has  no  more  privileges  in  Mexico  today  than 
the  Protestant  minister  who  has  helped  to  exterminate 
the  natives  on  his  domain. 

In  many  respects  Mexico  is  far  behind  other  civilized 
countries.  Their  system  of  giving  out  their  lands  in 
large  grants  has  left  the  country  in  many  places  com- 
paratively unsettled.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  one 
man  to  own  from  a  hundred  thousand  to  a  million  acres 
of  land.  In  fact,  on  the  very  start,  all  valuable  lands  not 
given  as  municipal  grants  were  given  to  individual  favor- 
ites. So  there  is  no  such  conditions  as  in  our  country, 
where  a  poor  man  can  go  and  locate  a  homestead. 


380  FORTY    YEARS    AMO^fG    THE    INDIANS. 

Many  persons  have  been  deceived  by  the  offers  of 
government  lands  in  Mexico,  supposing  they  could  get 
good  lands  at  a  nominal  sum.  The  only  way  to  get 
good  lands  is  to  purchase  from  the  owners  of  undisputed 
tracts.  To  do  this  safely  the  buyer  or  agent  must  be 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  language,  also  the  customs 
and  character  of  the  people  he  is  dealing  with.  There 
are  sharpers,  speculators  and  deceivers  in  that  country 
as  well  as  in  ours. 

Many  of  the  officers  of  the  government  are  inter- 
ested in  speculations  in  lands  and  will  vouch  for  persons 
when  their  recommend  is  interested. 

In  getting  titles  they  must  be  thoroughly  and  cor- 
rectly traced  back  to  the  original  grant,  and  all  adverse 
claims  settled.  From  what  I  know  of  land  troubles  in 
Mexico,  I  would  not  spend  much  money  on  any  land  that 
had  ever  been  in  dispute. 

There  are  so  many  chances  for  deception  that  it  is 
risky.  There  are  many  tracts  of  land  where  the  titles 
run  smoothly  back  to  the  origin  where  there  never  has 
been  dispute  or  litigation.  These  are  the  lands  to  look 
for  if  one  wishes  to  live  in  peace  and  security.  When 
the  grants  were  first  allowed  many  times  the  boundaries 
were  indefinite,  the  boundaries  having  been  defined  by 
mountains  or  streams,  or  something  subject  to  dispute, 
the  country  not  being  fully  explored.  Those  taking  pos- 
session would  set  their  monuments  so  as  to  take  in  all 
the  country  that  would  be  considered  valuable  without 
particularly  consulting  the  exact  lines  of  the  recorded 
grant. 

After  ages  of  occupation  these  monuments  come  to 
be  considered  proper.  Sometimes  they  were  short,  some- 
times extended  beyond  the  lawful  lines.  There  was 
often  a  great  deal  of  waste  land  adjoining  these  grants. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  38 1 

As  Mexico  is  a  dry  country,  no  lands  are  of  value  except 
where  water  can  be  procured. 

As  the  country  began  to  be  prospected  by  foreign- 
ers desirous  of  stock  ranches,  etc.,  and  also  the  more 
advanced  condition  of  the  government,  it  became  appar- 
ent that  these  grants  should  be  more  perfectly  defined, 
so  that  what  land  still  remained  to  the  government  could 
be  sold.  As  these  old  grants  stood  there  was  no  cer- 
tainty even  to  a  government  title,  as  the  grant  could  not 
be  broken  or  infringed  upon. 

The  attempt  to  get  these  government  lands  and  the 
failure  to  get  titles  has  given  rise  to  the  idea  that  there 
are  no  good  titles  in  Mexico.  Whereas  the  titles  of  these 
grants  are  so  good  that  they  cannot  be  broken;  and  when 
there  is  any  controversy  between  the  government  and 
land  grants,  the  grants  almost  invariably  win. 

Under  the  conditions  it  became  necessary  to  cause 
a  re-survey  of  the  whole  country.  To  bring  this  about 
the  country  was  cut  up  into  districts,  and  contracts  let  to 
persons  to  do  the  surveying,  their  compensation  to  be 
in  part  or  whole  or  percentage  of  the  lands  left  after  the 
titled  grants  were  defined. 

It  now  became  a  question  between  the  old  land 
owners  and  the  surveyors  which  would  get  the  most 
land.  Where  the  surveyors  could  crowd  in  the  lines 
they  had  the  more  land,  while  the  grants  sought  at  times 
to  extend  or  reach  the  first  allowance.  This  has  given 
rise  to  much  litigation,  and  even  up  to  the  present  some 
few  controversies  are  still  going  on. 

There  is  not  much  risk  in  buying  old  original  grants 
that  run  regularly,  without  adverse  claimants.  In  some 
few  places  there  were  small  plats  of  good  land  secured 
to   these   surveyors   by  cutting  off  from  the  old  grants. 


382  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

This  being  adjoining  to  the  waste  land  would  be  used  as 
a  bait  to  sell  their  worthless  lands. 

This  surveying  business  was  conducted  by  corpora- 
tions composed  of  the  most  wealthy  and  influential  men 
of  the  several  districts.  As  the  lands  and  lines  became 
defined,  they  having  the  option  from  the  government  on 
all  the  land,  took  possession  of  these  new  portions,  and 
commenced  to  advertise  and  offer  millions  of  acres  for 
sale  at  very  low  figures. 

Sometimes  this  surveying  company  would  become 
owners  of  certain  ranches.  Many  of  the  incorporators 
being  land  owners  would  arrange  with  the  surveying 
company  to  add  acreage  from  the  worthless  lands  and 
on  the   reputation  of  the  old  ranch  sell   the  whole  tract. 

To  explain  this  I  will  instance  one  case  that  came 
under  my  own  observation  and  was  offered  here  in  Utah. 
Without  naming  the  ranch  I  will  call  it  C — .  What  is 
commonly  known  as  the  Rancho  de  C — .  When  enquiry 
is  made  regarding  it  the  common  answer  from  the  people 
is  that  C —  is  a  fine  place,  good  land  with  plenty  of 
water — a  splendid  place. 

This  means  five  thousand  acres  of  good  bottom 
land  along  the  Rio  C — ,  and  that  is  all  the  Mexican 
ranchers  mean  when  he  speaks  of  the  ranch.  The  old 
grant  probably  embraces  two  hundred  thousand  acres 
extending  out  from  the  water  about  as  far  as  stock  would 
travel  from  water.  There  is  but  very  little  water  except 
in  the  river.  This  ranch  is  bounded  on  three  sides  by 
dry  deserts  and  one  side  by  mountains  with  some 
timber. 

One  attempt  has  been  made  to  put  this  ranch,  with 
five  hundred  thousand  acres  of  worthless  land  added, 
upon  the  market  on  the  reputation  of  the  little  fertile 
valley  of  five  thousand  acres  of  fine  agricultural   lands. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  383 

These  schemes  are  still  gotten  up  from  time  to  time,  and 
the  ignorant  are  imposed  upon  in  Mexico  just  the  same 
as  in  any  other  country;  but  when  men  get  bitten  in 
Mexico  they  try  to  excuse  themselves  by  reporting  that 
there  is  no  safety  in  titles. 

Now  all  the  answer  that  can  be  made  to  this  is,  Do 
business  in  Mexico  just  the  same  as  you  would  in  any 
other  country.  That  is,  determine  what  you  want  and 
then  apply  where  it  is  to  be  had.  Find  good  land  with 
good  tides,  then  secure  it  by  purchasing  from  the  owner. 
There  are  as  good  titles  and  protection  in  Mexico  as  in 
any  country  on  earth,  and  men  who  have  lived  there  for 
half  a  century  will  verify  this. 

The  climate  of  Mexico  varies  from  very  warm  to 
temperate.  All  along  the  Rio  del  Norte  and  for  some 
distance  out  the  climate  is  warm.  There  is  a  mountain 
range  running  clear  through  from  the  north  almost  to  the 
south  coast.  Much  of  the  lands  cultivated  are  high 
above  the  sea  level.  They  are  from  four  to  seven  thous- 
and feet.  The  mountain  valleys  and  table  lands  are 
temperate.  All  who  have  visited  the  Republic  of  Mexico 
agree  that  the  climate  is  among  the  best  on  earth. 

Many  persons  are  incredulous  when  told  that 
Mexico  is  not  a  hot  country,  referring  to  other  countries 
not  so  far  south  being  intensely  hot.  Many  think  the 
further  south  we  go  the  hotter  it  becomes.  The  tempera- 
ture depends  upon  the  altitude,  and,  as  stated  before,  a 
great  part  of  the  habitable  portion  of  Mexico  being  high 
the  climate  is  simply  delightful. 

Thousands  of  people  live  and  cultivate  successfully 
many  of  the  higher  valleys  without  irrigation.  Still  it  is 
safe  to  have  flowing  water  so  that  it  can  be  used  for 
irrigation  when  wanted. 

There  are  conflicting  reports  about  Mexico  and  her 


384  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

people,  the  same  as  there  are  about  Utah.  How  often  are 
we  of  Utah  annoyed  by  the  scribbling  of  some  wiseacre 
who  has  spent  a  whole  day  in  Salt  Lake  City,  rode 
around  and  been  stuffed  by  a  Liberal  hack  driver,  obtain- 
ing all  the  information  needed,  being  thoroughly  posted 
he  writes  up  the  country,  people,  customs,  facilities,  and 
explains  what  is  needed,  and  advises  legislation,  etc., 
with  all  the  assurance  of  one  thoroughly  posted.  Some 
of  our  Elders  who  have  made  a  flying  visit  to  Mexico 
appear  to  me  about  as  presumptuous.  What  they  don't 
see  or  know  would  make  a  book.  What  they  do  see  is 
often  through  a  glass  dimly.  If  one  fast  traveler  of  note 
happens  to  make  a  mistake  in  describing  something  all 
the  rest  copy.  Like  some  smart  idiot  wrote  years  ago 
that  the  flowers  of  Mexico  had  no  perfume;  the  birds  no 
song.  This  has  often  been  copied  when  there  is  not  a 
word  of  truth  in  the  statement. 

Neither  is  it  true  that  the  thorns  of  the  Giant 
Cactus,  Sahuara*  are  crooked  like  a  fish  hook.  I  simply 
mention  these  things  to  show  that  these  hasty  scribblers 
are  not  reliable  on  things  of  more  importance. 

A  person  to  know  and  understand  Mexico  and  her 
people,  as  the  Latter-day  Saints  should  know  and  under- 
stand them,  will  have  to  go  into  the  interior  away  from 
the  commercial  towns  and  cities. 

There  are  large  districts  of  country  inhabited  by  an 
almost  pure  race,  descendants  of  Lehi.  Any  one  conver- 
sant with  the  Book  of  Mormon  will  have  no  trouble  in 
finding  abundant  proof  that  the  greater  portion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Mexico  are  descendants  of  the  Jews,  and 
are  the  very  people,  or  a  great  portion  of  them,  to  which 
the  gospel  is  to  go  to  immediately  from  the  Gentile. 
That  the  work  in  Mexico  seems  a  little  slow  is  a  fact,  but 
no  fault  can  be  laid  to  the  natives,  according  to  my 
observation  and  experience  in  that  country. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  385 

When  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  teach  them  are 
ready,  according  to  the  revelations  given,  the  natives  will 
receive  them  gladly. 

Now,  as  this  country,  Utah,  is  fast  filling  up  with 
inhabitants  that  have  and  are  coming  to  stay,  there  nat- 
urally will  be  an  element  that  will  push  on  from  time  to 
time.  "Go  west,  young  man,"  is  now  obsolete;  there  is 
no  west  to  go  to,  so  the  pioneer  must  either  turn  to  the 
northern  plains  of  Canada  or  the  mountain  valleys  of 
Mexico,  or  allow  the  heel  of  civilization  to  be  placed 
upon  his  neck  for  all  time. 

The  questions  arise,  are  there  no  more  pioneers?  Have 
they  ceased  to  be — have  we  all  found  the  haven  of  rest 
so  long  looked  for?  Are  the  waste  places  all  built  up? 
I  cannot  think  that  all  progress  is  at  an  end,  notwith- 
standing Salt  Lake  City  is  a  great  place.  Still,  I  do  not 
believe  all  will  end  here.  So,  in  case  there  should  be  an 
individual  or  two  who  have  the  spirit  of  pioneering^  yet  lin- 
gering within  them,  I  will  ask  and  answer  a  few  questions 
for  their  benefit.  In  answering  these  questions  I  may 
repeat  some  things  already  explained  in  the  book ;  but 
for  the  convenience  of  many  persons  I  have  concluded 
to  ask  and  answer  just  such  questions  as  are  put  to  me 
almost  daily,  doubtless,  many  times,  by  people  who  wish 
to  gain  information.  While  some  ask  questions  merely 
to  be  sociable,  my  aim  is  to  give  those  who  are  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  Mexico  and  might  wish 
to  go  to  that  country,  such  information  as  will  be  of  use 
and  protect  them  from  being  misled. 

The  most  important  consideration  is  good  lands  with 
perfect  titles.     So  to  begin  : 

Can  good  lands  be  procured  in  Mexico?  Yes;  as 
good  as  can  be  in  Utah  or  any  country  I  have  ever  seen. 

Are  the  titles  good?     Yes;  there  are   many  large 


2,S6  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

tracts  of  good  land,  suitable  for  colonizing  upon,  that 
the  titles  originated  in  Spanish  grants.  These  grants  are 
proven  to  be  perfect,  as  they  stand  good  under  all  tests. 

How  about  government  titles?  It  is  the  report  that 
a  Mexican  title  for  land  is  not  very  reliable.  How  does 
this  report  come  about?  There  is  no  reason  why  a  title 
from  the  present  government  of  Mexico  is  not  good. 
The  only  thing  necessary  is  to  get  your  location  right. 
People  of  this  country  often  make  mistakes  in  locating 
properties.  No  government  will  defend  a  person  on 
lands  belonging  to  another  party  simply  because  they 
would  like  to  have  it,  and  make  a  wrong  location. 

Can  a  person  settle  upon  and  procure  lands  in 
Mexico  the  same  as  in  the  United  States?  No;  there 
are  no  such  laws  in  Mexico.  In  fact,  at  the  present 
time,  that  Republic  has  no  lands  to  be  considered.  This 
I  have  fully  shown  heretofore  ;  your  question  must  apply 
to  titled  properties.  It  is  a  waste  of  time  to  ask  ques- 
tions about  government  lands  in  Mexico. 

Then  you  say  all  desirable  lands  must  be  bought  of 
private  owners  ?     Yes. 

What  price  will  have  to  be  paid  for  these  lands? 
About  the  same  average  as  public  lands  in  this  country. 

How  is  that?  I  have  often  heard  that  good  lands 
could  be  bought  in  Mexico  for  twenty-five  cents  per  acre, 
either  from  the  government  or  from  land  companies,  who 
have  control  of  large  tracts. 

Well,  my  friend,  if  you  depend  upon  any  such  pro- 
spects you  will  be  left,  as  others  have  been  who  have 
undertaken  to  get  cheap  lands  in  that  country. 

How  is  the  country  you  recommend  for  timber?  Is 
there  plenty,  and  of  what  kinds  ?  Pine,  of  the  best  qua- 
lity, is  in  great  abundance,  as  well  as  considerable  oak 
and  some  other  hard  woods  of  medium  quality. 


FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  T,Sy 

Is  the  timber  in  the  mountains  and  canyons,  the 
same  as  here  in  Utah?  No;  there  are  millions  of  acres 
of  timber  lands  adjoining  the  tillable  valleys  that  the 
timber  grows  upon,  the  low  hills  and  upland  plateaus, 
where  teams  can  drive  among  the  timber  without  any  road 
making  whatever. 

Then  there  must  be  considerable  rain  fall  in  this 
timbered  country?  Yes;  there  are  thousands  of  inhab- 
itants living  in  the  district  who  never  pretend  to  irrigate 
their  lands,  and  they  raise  good  crops,  generally. 

Do  they  never  fail  of  crops?  Yes,  sometimes;  they 
reckon  an  average  of  every  seven  years  for  drouth. 

Would  it  not  be  safer  to  get  land  where  there  is 
water  for  irrigation,  in  case  it  should  be  needed  ?  Yes ; 
I  would  not  buy  land  at  any  price  in  Mexico  unless  there 
was  a  reasonable  amount  of  water  belonging  to  the 
land. 

Then  you  do  not  like  to  depend  upon  the  rains 
entirely  ?  No  ;  and  for  good  reason.  We  have  found, 
by  experience  here  in  Utah,  that  irrigation  is  handy  and 
profitable.  A  great  variety  of  products  can  be  raised,  as 
we  can  apply  the  water  when  needed.  When  we  depend 
upon  rain,  many  times  the  seasons  are  so  divided  that 
we  have  the  extremes  of  wet  and  dry.  This  is  com- 
mon in  the  district  of  Mexico  that  I  recommend  for  set- 
tling. 

When  is  the  rainy  season  in  that  country?  June, 
July  and  August  are  the  rainy  months ;  during  the  win- 
ter season  there  is  considerable  rain  and  some  snow. 

Oh,  I  thought  it  was  an  awful  hot  country.  How  is 
it  you  have  snow  when  it  is  so  far  south?  Mr.  Jones, 
you  must  be  mistaken.  I  have  been  down  in  Arizona; 
it  is  very  hot  there — too  hot  for  me — and  this  Mexican 
country  is  a  long  ways  further  south,  and  you   say  you 


388  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

have  snow  there.  My  friend,  you  must  study  the  geogra- 
phy of  Mexico  a  little.  If  you  will  look  upon  the 
map  of  Mexico  and  find  the  State  of  Chihuahua  you 
will  observe  a  district  of  country  showing  where 
several  streams  head  and  run  off  in  different  direc- 
tions, some  running  for  hundreds  of  miles  north ;  so 
you  see,  on  entering  the  State  of  Chihuahua  on 
the  north  one  travels  up-hill  for  several  days.  The 
facts  are  that  some  of  the  finest  and  most  fertile  mount- 
ain valleys  of  that  country  are,  as  shown  by  meas- 
urement, two  thousand  feet  higher  than  Salt  Lake  val- 
ley. So,  if  Zion  is  to  be  built  up  in  the  tops  of  the 
mountains,  we  lack  two  thousand  feet  of  being  there  yet. 

Then  you  mean  to  say  the  climate  is  temperate? 
Yes;  the  altitude  preserves  us  from  the  heat.  While 
being  so  far  south,  the  winters  are  moderate ;  all  who 
have  ever  lived  in  the  district  admit  that  it  has  a  fine 
climate. 

What  are  the  products?  Corn,  beans,  potatoes, 
melons,  cabbage,  onions  and  anything  common  to  a  tem- 
perate climate,  and  good,  mellow  soil  is  or  can  be  raised. 

How  about  fruits — is  there  much  raised  there? 
While  it  is  one  of  the  best  fruit  countries  possible,  judg- 
ing from  what  I  have  seen,  there  is  but  little  progress 
yet  by  the  natives,  as  fruit  raisers. 

Why  is  this?  Simply  this  like  in  most  everything 
else — the  people  are  a  long  way  behind.  They  know 
nothing  about  grafting  or  budding  fruits ;  they  plant  the 
seeds  and  let  them  grow  often  in  clusters,  and  take  what 
comes.  I  have  seen  some  of  the  finest  seedling  apples 
that  were  ever  produced,  picked  from  trees  grown  in  a 
thick  clump,  without  any  cultivation  whatever.  Also 
pears,  apricots,  plums  and  .such  hardy  fruits  common  to 
a  temperate  climate. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  389 

How  about  grapes?  It  is  too  cold  for  any  except 
the  hardy  varieties. 

Is  it  a  good  wheat  country?  Yes;  wheat  does  quite 
well,  except  when  the  season  is  wet.  About  harvest 
time,  when,  like  all  rainy  countries,  the  harvest  is  attend- 
ed with  difficulties,  sometimes  the  wheat  is  damaged  by 
rust.  This  can  be  hindered,  somewhat,  by  drilling  the 
wheat,  giving  it  a  chance  to  ripen  early,  and  not  so  apt 
to  be  effected  by  damp  weather,  as  thickly  sown  wheat. 
Rye,  oats  and  barley  do  well. 

How  is  the  range?  Splendid;  the  whole  country  is 
thickly  set  with  excellent  grass. 

Then  if  it  is  a  thickly  timbered  county  with  plenty  of 
grass  there  must  be  plenty  of  game?  Yes ;  there  are 
deer,  bear  and  wild  turkeys  in  great  abundance.  A 
person  fond  of  hunting  can  have  all  the  sport  he 
wants.  There  are  springs  of  pure  water  and  beauti- 
ful mountain  streams  all  through  the  country,  so  that 
game  has  a  fine  chance  to  live  and  grow  fat.  Then  there 
must  be  fish  in  these  mountain  streams?  No;  for  some 
cause  these  streams  are  not  stocked  with  fish  of  much 
worth.  Is  the  country  thickly  inhabited?  Are  there 
towns  and  settlements  where  business  could  be  opened 
up?  If  the  country  was  thickly  settled  there  would  be 
no  room  for  colonizers.  There  are  several  towns  num- 
bering from  one  to  five  thousand  inhabitants  within  a 
reasonable  distance.  There  are  also  some  of  the  richest 
mining  camps  of  Mexico  in  the  district  of  country,  that 
would  furnish  an  excellent  market  for  all  products  raised. 
What  are  the  facilities  for  different  kind  of  manufactures 
or  industries?  Stock  raising,  especially  fine  horses,  as 
the  high  altitude  and  solid  surface,  healthy  atmosphere 
and  pure  water  would  be  adapted  to  breeding  a  superior 
class  of  thoroughbreds.     Now  I  am  astonished  to  hear 


390  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS. 

you  recommend  the  raising  of  fine  horses  in  Mexico. 
That  revolutionary  country  where  they  will  take  every- 
thing a  man  owns  and  give  him  nothing  in  return. 
What  would  you  do  to  protect  your  fine  stock? 

Now  to  answer  this  I  will  make  the  statement  as 
given  to  me  by  many  of  the  old  settlers  of  the  district  I 
am  writing  about.  That  is,  no  revolutions  or  wars  of  a 
national  character  have  reached  that  district  for  over  a 
hundred  years  except  to  defend  themselves  against  the 
Apaches. 

The  district  is  known  as  the  Warrior  district,  but 
their  warriors  are  for  their  own  defence  and  protection; 
they  are  noted  for  minding  their  own  business,  being 
peaceable  when  let  alone,  but  very  ugly  when  interfered 
with;  perfectly  honest  and  united  in  protecting  themselves 
against  thieves.  It  is  naturally  one  of  the  best  protected 
countries  on  this  continent,  and  a  reasonable  sized  colony 
could  and  would  be  as  safe  there  as  any  place  upon 
earth.  Would  cattle  raising  pay?  That  is  one  of  the 
principal  businesses  of  the  country.  Cattle  are  bought 
annually  and  driven  from  that  country  to  the  United 
States.  Is  it  a  good  sheep  country?  Yes;  naturally  so, 
but  if  I  could  have  my  way  the  immediate  district,  if 
colonized,  would  be  protected  from  sheep  depredations. 
If  there  is  a  people  on  earth  who  deserve  the  name  of 
pirates  I  think  it  is  the  average  sheep  owner  of  Utah. 
They  know  no  law  but  to  crowd  their  sheep  upon  any 
and  every  place  where  they  can  live  regardless  of  the 
rights  of  others. 

There  are  large  districts  of  country  in  northern 
Mexico  well  adapted  to  sheep  raising,  not  suitable  for 
farming  or  inhabiting  to  any  great  extent.  Sheep  men 
should  be  satisfied  with  such  countries  and  not  crowd 
themselves  upon  the  setders  as  they  do  in   this  country^ 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  39 1 

eating  off  the  range  from  the  home  stock,  befouHng  the 
waters  and  filling  the  atmosphere  with  a  sickly  stench  for 
the  greater  portion  of  the  summer  season. 

The  answer  to  this  is  that  it  is  for  revenue.  Yes 
revenue,  but  at  the  cost  of  the  comfort,  health  and  lives 
of  many  people.  The  revenue  is  to  the  few  while  the 
nuisance  is  to  the  many. 

Anyone  wanting  a  sheep  ranch  in  Mexico  had  better 
not  apply  to  me  for  information.  I  would  rather  wear  a 
coat  made  of  Australian  wool  than  have  a  healthy,  happy 
country  tramped  down  and  made  a  sickly,  stinking 
desert  by  herding  sheep  around  a  settlement.  But  if 
anyone  should  wish  to  start  a  woolen  factory  they  would 
have  no  trouble  in  getting  all  the  wool  wanted,  for  it  is 
already  cheap  and  plentiful. 

Would  a  tannery  pay  ?  Yes;  hides  and  oak  bark 
are  plentiful,  that  really  would  be  one  of  the  most  profit- 
able industries  and  easiest  to  start.  Lumber  and  all 
kinds  of  building  materials  being  near  at  hand. 

Is  there  a  demand  for  mechanical  labor?  My  sup- 
position is  that  a  thrifty  colony  would  demand  work 
among  themselves.  Again,  the  country  being  new  as 
far  as  modern  improvements  are  concerned  would,  when 
an  example  was  set,  naturally  begin  to  build  up  and 
create  a  demand  for  many  kinds  of  labor  that  are  not  now 
wanted  among  the  natives.  It  is  a  country  naturally 
rich  in  resources,  and  would  soon  prosper  and  build  up 
a  people  provided  they  applied  themselves  intelligently 
and  industriously  to  improve  the  natural  privileges. 

How  is  the  government?  Do  you  think  a  man  can 
live  there  in  peace  any  length  of  time?  I  think  a  man 
will  have  all  the  privilege  and  protection  that  could  be 
reasonably  desired. 

Well,    now,   why  won't  they  legislate   against  our 


392  FORTY   YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIA.  .S. 

religion  in  time  there  just  the  same  as  is  being  done 
here?  That  is  too  big  a  question  to  be  answered  in  a 
sentence.  You  must  read  the  Book  of  Mormon  in  true 
belief,  realizing  that  it  is  true  and  plain.  If  you  will  do 
this  honestly  you  will  have  no  fears  about  the  future  in 
Mexico. 

Well,  now,  how  can  a  person  be  protected  in  his 
rights?  By  going  slow  and  learning  how  from  some  one 
who  is  capable  of  teaching  you. 

Can  a  person  single-handed  do  anything  in  the 
country  you  recommend?  No,  sir;  it  will  not  amount 
to  anything  except  a  colony  of  sufficient  strength  and 
means  to  get  a  good  tract  of  land  and  be  for  a  season 
self-sustaining. 

Would  it  not  be  very  expensive  to  move  into  that 
country?  Not  under  proper  system  and  organization. 
How  long  would  it  take  to  go  from  here  with  a  family 
and  get  settled  to  work?  About  fifteen  days,  allowing 
nothing  for  delays. 

How  far  is  it  from  the  railroad?  About  one  hund- 
red and  fifty  miles  to  the  district. 

Can  the  necessary  stock  be  procured  to  commence 
with?     Yes,  and  quite  reasonable. 

How  about  provisions?  Such  as  corn,  beans  and 
meat  are  in  abundance.  Flour  is  scarce  and  of  a  poor 
quality  and  cannot  be  obtained  until  mills  are  built  as 
the  natives  have  no  good  mills,  the  flour  is  bad,  but  the 
corn  is  excellent  and  will  make  good  meal,  which  will 
answer  for  a  season. 

Well,  Mr.  Jones,  I  have  sold  out  to  a  Liberal  here 
for  fifty  thousand,  and  I  don't  much  like  the  idea  of 
going  without  my  cake  and  biscuit.  Ain't  there  no  way 
to  get  good  flour?  Oh  yes,  you  can  get  it  for  about  nine 
dollars  per  hundred. 


FG[ITY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  393 

That  will  do;  if  I  go  I  will  take  a  few  sacks. 

How  about  custom  duties?  No  trouble  for  regular 
colonizers  that  go  in  order  and  conform  to  the  laws  and 
make  their  applications  beforehand,  so  that  when  they 
arrive  at  the  custom  house  they  are  known  as  colonizers, 
haphazzard  work  in  Mexico  makes  trouble  the  same  as 
in  any  other  country. 

Do  you  think  there  will  be  much  of  a  move  from 
this  country  to  Mexico?  I  did  think  so  at  one  time;  but 
I  am  now  under  the  impression  that  there  will  be  no 
great  move  to  that  land. 

What  has  changed  your  opinion  ?  Simply  this — the 
people  do  not  wish  to  go.  The  inhabitants  of  Utah  have 
good  homes  and  have  made  up  their  minds  to  accept  the 
situation  and  stay,  and  enjoy  their  wealth  and  luxuries 
the  same  as  other  people. 

Then  you  have  given  up  the  idea  of  ever  seeing  a 
prosperous  colony  of  Mormons  settle  in  Mexico,  in 
some  of  the  rich  valleys  that  you  have  been  recommend- 
ing so  long?  No,  sir;  not  at  all.  I  still  have  faith  in 
the  move ;  those  who  have  faith  in  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
and  have  a  greater  desire  to  see  the  words  of  the  Book 
fulfilled  that  to  have  to  accumulate  wealth,  will  go. 

Then  you  think  it  will  be  at  the  sacrifice  of  worldly 
wealth  and  comforts  that  people  will  take  hold  of  the 
work?  Seemingly  so,  but  not  in  reality.  There  are 
many  principles  revealed  to  this  people  that  we  are  slow 
to  put  in  full  practice.  Among  others  United  Order,  'a 
principle  the  Prophet  Brigham  declared  would  have  to  be 
practiced  before  further  advancement  would  be  made  by 
this  people.  While  the  majority  of  the  people  called 
Latter-day  Saints  are  inclined  to  look  with  suspicion  on 
any  move  in  that  direction,  the  natives  of  Mexico  favor 
and,  in  a  good  degree,  practice  the  principle.     A  short 


394  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

description  of  their  mode  of  farming  will  illustrate  this. 
In  the  spring,  when  planting  time  comes,  all  join 
together  and  go  into  the  field  of  one  party  and  plow  and 
put  in  the  seed ;  the  poor  man  who  has  no  cattle  shares 
the  same  as  the  wealthy.  This  they  continue  until  all 
the  fields  of  the  village  are  planted.  If  any  lack  seed  it 
is  loaned  to  them.  If  there  is  a  scarcity  of  provisions 
the  first  field  products  fit  for  use,  instead  of  being  sold 
at  an  exorbitant  price,  become  common  property,  and 
all  the  hungry  partake  of  the  blessing.  When  the  crops 
are  gathered  in  the  owner  of  the  early  field  receives 
such  as  his  neighbors  feel  free  to  give  him,  which  is 
always  liberal  in  quantity. 

Now,  I  would  not  advocate  the  doing  just  as  these 
natives  do ;  but  will  say  this,  their  customs  show  that 
they  have  a  principle  of  union  and  good  fellowship 
among  them  that  could  easily  be  trained  into  more  suc- 
cessful principles  of  union.  They  are  true  Israelites, 
descendants  of  the  Jews,  and,  having  left  Jerusalem 
before  the  crucifixion  of  the  Savior,  have  not  that  curse 
resting  upon  them,  but,  on  the  contrary,  have  the  merit 
of  having  descended  from  a  people  who  received  the 
Savior  and  the  gospel  and  lived  for  hundreds  of  years  in 
a  condition  of  peace,  union  and  intelligence  far  beyond 
the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  They  are  entided  to  the  gos- 
pel, according  to  the  Book  of  Mormon,  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  work  among  the  Gentiles.  The  day  of  their 
deliverance  cannot  be  far  away,  for  if  the  fullness  of  the 
Gentiles  is  not  close  at  hand,  the  Saints  must  have  a 
hard  experience  before  them. 

Now,  to  finish  up  this  work,  I  wish  to  give  a  few  of 
my  own  observations  and  reflections.  The  sketches  of 
history  I  have  given  as  they  occurred  to  me.  My  descrip- 
tions of  country  and  inhabitants,  according  to  the  best  of 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  395 

my  judgment,  after  years  of  study  and  acquaintance. 
No  person  can  describe  a  country  from  a  single  visit  suf- 
ficiently well  to  predicate  a  reliable  report  upon,  unless 
receiving  information  from  a  most  trust-worthy  and  intel- 
ligent source.  For  this  reason  I  have  always  made  it  a 
rule  to  visit  country,  where  convenient,  at  different  times 
and  seasons ;  also  to  inquire  from  different  disinterested 
parties,  watching  closely  the  general  reports.  The  judge 
on  his  bench  allows  a  person's  general  reputation  to  be 
a  proper  question  for  proof,  but  will  not  allow  direct  indi- 
vidual testimony,  neither  good  nor  bad.  This  rule 
should  largely  apply  in  determining  the  quality  and  con- 
ditions of  a  country.  If  the  reputation  is  generally  good, 
then  we  may  look  favorably  on  the  subject;  but  if  bad, 
like  the  person  with  a  bad  reputation,  we  should  be  care- 
ful in  dealing  with  them. 

Sometimes,  when  speaking  of  certain  tracts  of  land 
in  Mexico,  persons  will  ask  me  if  the  titles  are  good. 
When  I  tell  them  yes,  they  will  ask,  "How  do  you 
know?  I  hear  people  are  often  deceived  about  titles; 
how  do  you  know  they  are  good?"  There  was  an  old 
lady  told  me  the  title  is  good.  Now  this  might  seem  a 
light  answer;  but,  in  reality,  is  not  the  "old  lady's" 
answers  on  general  reputation,  and  many  times  more 
reliable  than  an  interested  party? 

Of  course,  this  information  is  preliminary;  but  it 
will,  many  times,  enable  a  person  to  form  an  opinion  as 
to  whether  it  will  pay  to  make  further  investigation.  I 
would  rather  take  the  friendly  report  of  a  neighbor 
about  the  titles  of  a  Mexican  ranch  than  I  would  the 
information  of  an  officer  of  state,  that  might  have  an 
ax  to  grind.  People,  who  visit  President  Diaz  and  cabi- 
net when  on  land  business  in  Mexico,  are  likely  to  be 
kindly    treated    and    receive    such    information    as    his 


39^  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

Excellency  and  associates  have  to  give,  but,  individu- 
ally, I  have  always  found  it  best  to  get  posted  from 
the  neighbors  or  owners. 

I  came  from  Mexico  to  Utah  nearly  forty  years  ago. 
I  have  been  interested  in  that  country  and  people  from 
that  time  until  the  present.  I  have  often  met  Elders 
whose  faith  and  testimony  seemed  strong,  yet  seemed  to 
have  but  little  faith  or  interest  in  the  work  among  the 
remnants  spoken  of  in  the  Book  of  Mormon.  To 
me  this  has  always  seemed  strange.  We  are  all 
looking  forward  to  the  time  soon  coming  when  the  gos- 
pel will  be  withdrawn  from  the  Gentiles  and  go  to  the 
"Jews,  of  which  the  remnants  are  descendants,"  so  says 
the  Book  of  Doctrine  and  Covenants. 

There  can  be  no  question  but  the  turning  of  the 
gospel  from  the  Gentile  to  the  Jew  means  first  to  the 
remnants.  Any  one  studying  the  Book  of  Mormon  care- 
fully cannot  help  but  see  that  the  Word  is  to  be  carried 
to  the  remnants.  It  might  be  easier  and  more  conveni- 
ent to  make  a  tour  to  Jerusalem,  but  it  won't  fill  the  bill. 
The  remnants  must  be  preached  to,  then  they  will  believe 
and  come  to  a  knowledge  of  Jesus. 

We  who  have  been  gathered  from  the  Gentile  world 
have  the  promise  of  coming  in  and  being  numbered  with 
the  remnants  and  helping  them  to  build  up  the  New 
Jerusalem,  provided  we  harden  not  our  hearts.  Now 
what  does  this  hardening  of  hearts  mean?  I  will  suppose 
a  character  and  see  if  it  will  apply. 

A  person  hears  the  gospel,  his  heart  is  pricked  and 
naturally  softened.  The  love  of  God  and  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  comes  upon  him,  he  goes  forth  after  receiving 
the  blessings  of  the  ordinances  and  preaches  the  gospel 
to  his  friends  and  countrymen  and  baptizes  many, 
teaches  them  their  duty,   and  finally   gathers    to  Zion. 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  397 

Then  he  settles  down  to  the  duties  of  home  and  life 
among  the  Saints.  He  is  prospered  and  blessed,  his 
heart  is  warm  and  soft.  He  enters  into  all  the  duties 
common  to  a  faithful  Elder,  his  family  increases,  he  is 
persecuted  for  his  belief  and  practice^  all  this  he  stands 
and  feels  good  in  doing  his  duty  and  maintaining  his 
principles. 

Now  this  man  has  been  gathered  out  from  the 
Gentiles  and  will  have  the  privilege  of  being  numbered 
with  the  remnants,  if  he  hardens  not  his  heart.  Now 
why  should  such  an  individual  harden  his  heart?  What 
motive  or  cause  could  there  possibly  be  for  the  harden- 
ing of  the  heart?  It  may  come  in  this  way,  the  Laman- 
ites  are  a  poor,  and  to  the  rich  and  refined  looked  upon 
as  a  dirty,  degraded  people,  still  the  Lord  has  promised 
that  those  of  the  Gentile  world  who  receive  the  words  of 
the  Book  should  carry  them  to  the  remnants.  Now  will 
we  do  this,  or  will  our  riches  hinder  us  when  the  time 
comes?  Doubtless  there  will  be  some  who  will  say,  "I 
am  not  interested  in  these  dirty  Indians."  Possibly  this 
is  what  hardening  of  the  heart  means.  Some  would 
apply  this  to  the  whole  world  who  reject  the  gospel.  I 
think  it  more  consistent  to  apply  it  to  the  Elder  who  has 
received  the  gospel  and  had  his  heart  softened  to  his 
duty  and  then  allows  it  to  become  hardened  through 
prosperity.  To  those  who  suppose  the  Lamanites  all 
low  and  degraded,  I  will  add  this  to  what  I  have  already 
said  in  their  favor.  There  are  thousands  of  the  finest 
artisans  upon  earth  among  the  remnants.  Also  many  of 
them  are  educated  and  refined,  and  as  for  natural  intel- 
lect, who  ever  saw  an  Indian  who  was  a  dunce? 

Without  the  aid  of  the  remnants  this  people  never 
would  amount  to  much.  We  have  increased  and  built 
up  beyond  any  other  people,  yet  our  numbers  are  small 


39^  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

considering  the  great  work  before  us.  Many  will  say 
wait,  the  time  has  not  come  to  preach  to  the  remnants. 
Possibly  this  is  so  in  a  measure,  still  I  never  could  believe 
but  what  many  of  the  people  have  been  ready  for  some 
time  past. 

The  mission  to  labor  among  the  remnants  has  never 
been  a  popular  work.  There  are  too  many  sacrifices  to 
make.  There  is  not  an  Elder  who  has  labored  faith- 
fully for  the  welfare  of  the  Indians  but  what  has  been 
brought  under  trying  ordeals,  many  times  suffering 
worse  than  death.  It  is  no  wonder  that  but  few  have 
stuck  to  the  work. 

There  will,  doubtless,  be  a  change  when  a  more 
general  spirit  of  preaching  to  the  remnants  come  over  the 
Elders.  Missions  will  be  conducted  in  a  more  systematic 
manner.  More  wisdom  will  be  given  and  support 
extended. 

I  have  seen  this  Church  and  people  pass  through 
many  trials.  They  have  always  been  able  to  stand  and 
gain  strength  through  their  various  experiences.  The 
gospel  teaches  us  that  we  should  be  ready  to  make  any 
sacrifice  for  our  religion ;  but  I  have  never  been  con- 
vinced that  we  have  a  right  to  sacrifice,  in  the  least,  any 
portion  of  our  religion,  either  individually  or  as  a  people, 
for  the  sake  of  convenience.  Our  enemies,  the  wicked 
of  the  world,  have  been  crowding  upon  us  from  the  be- 
ginning, seeking  to  make  us  abandon  the  principles  God 
has  revealed,  until  now  we  are  virtually  denied  the  rights 
of  citizenship  unless  we  abandon  our  religion.  The 
concessions  we  have  lately  made — whether  it  has  done 
us  any  good  or  not— -has  fully  proven  to  God  and  man 
that  there  is  no  honesty  in  the  propositions  made ;  no 
concession  will  satisfy  our  enemies  short  of  down  right 
apostasy.     If  this  people  would  really  become  wicked 


FORTY    YEARS    AMONG   THE    INDIANS.  399 

and  fully  practice  the  abominations  common  to  the  pres- 
ent generation,  then  we  could  vote,  hold  office  and  be 
'•good  citizens." 

To  say  that  the  practices  of  this  people  cannot  be 
tolerated  in  the  nation,  as  a  religion,  is  to  say  that  the 
teachings  of  the  Bible  cannot  be  allowed  as  religion — for 
there  is  not  a  principle  taught  or  practiced  as  religion 
by  this  people  except  Bible  doctrines  and  precepts.  This 
the  world  knows  and  have  acknowledged  as  often  as  our 
principles  have  been  put  to  the  test.  Many  look  for- 
ward to  some  move  of  importance  taking  place  within  a 
year  or  two.  Sometimes  I  am  asked  if  I  have  an  idea. 
Yes.  ''Well,  what  is  it?"  I  believe  it  will  not  be  long 
before  the  Saints  will  acknowledge  that  the  wisdom  of 
man  will  not  do  to  depend  upon,  and  turn  unto  the  Lord 
and  ask  Him,  in  sincerity,  to  direct  them  through  His 
servants,  whom  He  has  commissioned  to  lead  Israel. 
Politics  will  not  do.  There  are  powers  that  will  beat  us 
when  we  depend  on  our  smartness.  It  may  be  a  little 
humiliating  to  acknowledge,  but  the  world  are  smarter, 
in  some  things,  than  we  are.  Young  Utah  will  never  do 
to  lead  this  people.  Whenever  we  undertake  to  get 
ahead,  in  any  way,  of  the  wisdom  of  our  Elders,  then  we 
will  fail  to  put  a  man  forward  as  our  best  man,  because 
of  any  earthly  success  will  never  do. 

History  points  to  a  time  when  our  rulers  in  this  na- 
tion were  honest  and  wise.  Laws  were  made  for  the 
good  of  the  whole  people.  No  speculative  jobs  were 
put  up  in  those  days ;  both  brains  and  principles  were  in 
demand.  As  the  nation  advanced  wealth  became  princi- 
pal, until  today  there  is  but  little  said  about  the  intelli- 
gence, honesty  and  capability  of  national  leaders  only  as 
financiers,  and  telling  of  the  luxury  and  extravagance  of 
their  wives  and  daughters. 


400  FORTY    YEARS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 

This  wave  of  luxurious  desire  has  even  reached  to 
Salt  Lake  City,  and  made  a  little  ripple  here  during  our 
last  grand  campaign.  If  we  will  look  back  calmly  we 
will  remember  that  financial  ability  was  the  main  cry. 
The  Lord  wil  not  change  His  laws  and  commandments 
to  suit  the  proud  and  wealthy.  Wealth  leads  in  the 
world,  but  principles  will  lead  this  people ;  wealth  does 
not  necessarily  do  away  with  principles,  neither  does 
wealth  prove  that  principle  exists.  So  the  first  great 
move  before  this  people  will  be  to  fall  into  line  and  be 
governed  fully  and  willingly  by  the  principles  of  the 
gospel. 

The  questions  are  often  asked,  how  long  will  it  be 
before  the  power  of  the  wicked  is  broken?  j^ow  long 
will  this  people  be  annoyed  and  oppressed  by  their  ene- 
mies? This  I  cannot  answer;  but  I  refer  the  reader  to 
page  122  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  showing  clearly  that 
there  is  a  certain  work  to  be  done  before  the  wicked  will 
be  used  up.  Any  one  reflecting  reasonably  upon  the 
great  work  will  see  that  it  will  necessarily  take  time. 
Nothing  can  be  done  only  in  order ;  God  has  promised 
to  hasten  His  work,  but  He  has  not  promised  to  violate 
His  laws  for  our  convenience.  It  must,  of  necessity 
take  a  few  years  of  diligent  labor  from  many  of  the 
Elders  of  the  Church. 

For  anyone  to  suppose  that  the  wicked  will  be 
destroyed  for  our  protection  before  the  remnants  are 
ministered  to  is  not  faith,  but  presumption. 

Biographies  generally  end  with  death,  romances  with 
marriage.  I  am  not  expecting  to  die  for  many  years  to 
come,  as  I  am  still  strong  and  healthy. 


^   , 


'  ^   n 
i    ' 


J     M 


